Dragon Soul
by 10Blue10
Summary: (Book Two) Life is great. Hiccup is training to be chief, engaged to Astrid, he and Toothless are closer than ever. Whilst exploring, they discover that a madman is amassing a dragon army, and it's only a matter of time before he reaches Berk. Toothless-Hiccup set out to recruit an ally in a mysterious dragon thief, who turns out to be the last person anyone expected.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD 1 or 2

A/N: Welcome back, amigos! To the prelude of the second instalment in…I suck at coming up with names for my series. Suggestions are welcome. Here it is; the prologue to 'Dragon Soul'! With a header image courtesy of Chouly-only, permission given, check out their work on Deviantart!

This story is set in the autumn of the year after 'Heart Bound', which takes place in summer. As RTTE supposedly takes place when the riders are 18-19 , I've decided that in HB they are 20 and in this story Hiccup is 21. The story will loosely follow the plot of HTTYD2, but with a few minor (and major) alterations.

The theme song for this story is Alexander Rybak's amazing song 'Into a Fantasy', which as I'm sure you know, is also one of the official songs for HTTYD2.

The song for the prologue is 'Beautiful Creatures' from Rio 2 (recommended PMV, search 'let's celebrate httyd' and click on the NightFuryFan95's video).

Anyway, on with the show: happy reading!

Prologue

 _This is Berk. The best kept secret this side of, well, anywhere. Granted, it may not look like much, but this wet heap of rock packs more than a few surprises._

A black, grey dappled dragon and his human rider flew towards a reasonable sized, craggy island in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Dragons milled about in the skies and in the village that sprawled haphazardly on the south-western side. The humans that dwelled there had once hated and feared the fire-breathing reptiles…until the very same patrolling duo had taken down the true monster behind three centuries of bloodshed. Now the dragons were welcomed, not merely as pets but as useful allies and loyal friends.

 _Now, dragons used to be a bit of a problem here, but that was years ago. Now, they've all moved in. And, really, why wouldn't they? We have custom stables... all-you-can-eat feeding stations... a full service dragon wash. Even top-of-the-line fire prevention, if I do say so myself._

As Toothless swooped in towards the village, a Monstrous Nightmare sneezed and accidentally set a house aflame. The young drake uttered a panicked croak and frantically beat his wings, sending a troupe of Terrors fluttering away squawking indignantly. The gusts of air blew the fire but failed to put it out, until a young teen yanked hard on a rope, and opened up a spout on the aqueduct system running overhead. "Good job, Fanghook" smiled Gustav, reaching up to pet his dragon as the drake crawled down from the roof. He climbed into Fanghook's saddle and the two of them flew off to find mischief somewhere else.

 _It's been a just over a year since Myrkr, and so much has changed. We've all got our different things going on..._

Hiccup and Toothless flew over the blacksmiths forge, where Gobber spent his days building saddles, fixing dragon teeth and forging the occassional weapon out of Gronckle iron. They had made an accidental improvement to it not long before Toothless and Hiccup's journey to Myrkr. Whilst helping Gobber whip up a new batch of Gronckle iron, Fishlegs had inadvertently knocked some coals onto the pile of rocks Meatlug was happily chomping up. She kept eating, coals and all, oblivious to the taste of them.

The resulting Gronckle Iron was streaked through with wisps of black. Gobber thought it was no good, but Fishlegs convinced him to at least try it out. It turned out to be their lightest, strongest batch yet. Convinced that it was thanks to the coal, they'd added more to the next batch. The metal was a darker grey, but still just as shiny, strong and durable as before. It turned out a lot of the Gronckles didn't mind the taste of coal...there were drawbacks to this addition to their diet, but if meant being able to make better Gronckle Iron, they'd overlook the odours of burning plants.

 _Snotlout is Gobber's apprentice now. My father and his decided it would help 'build character'...Whether or not that actually works remains to be seen. Still, he hasn't lost any limbs yet, so that's a plus._

"Careful with that saw! You'll take your own arm off if you're not careful!"

"I'm being care - aargh!" Snotlout reeled away from the saw, clutching his arm and groaning exaggeratedly. Alarmed, Gobber quickly pulled a lever to stop the blade in its tracks. There was no sign of blood on it or any severed limbs...he rolled his eyes and cuffed the younger man around the head, taking care not to use his hook by mistake. "Ow! What was that for?" Snotlout demanded petulantly, rubbing his head with the same hand he'd just pretended to have cut off. Gobber just gave him a pointed glare, and he gulped. The glare intensified, so he quickly went back to work.

 _We had a breakthrough recently; we convinced the twins that if they're going to cause chaos wherever they go, they can at least channel that destructive energy into something useful. Amazingly, they listened. To a point, I suppose._ _Now they're helping to carve out new nests for dragons, and they've even improved on our defences..._

A Zippleback and a purple Deadly Nadder were hovering in front of the mountain overlooking the village. Their dragon stuck both his heads into a hollow in the rock. Barf sprayed gas into the hole, Belch ignited it, and the resulting explosion made the hollow even bigger. The twins gleefully kept blasting the rock until they'd made a hollow large enough for the Nadder drakaina to start building a nest in. "Presenting your new home, madam!" Tuffnut declared grandiosely. The Spike-tail drakaina made a happy squawking, chirping sound and settled down in her new nest.

*Thank you very much!* she told the Zippleback, who replied in tandem.

*You're-

-Welcome!*

 _To make up for 'accidentally on purpose' spilling the Big News to the village, they came up with the idea to make 'dragon bombs' - hollow balls filled with Fire-scale saliva or Twin-head gas, and a lighter that gets triggered when they're thrown or stepped on. Unfortunately, it's been so peaceful they haven't had a chance to use them in battle...so they've been using them for pranks instead. I suppose it's nice to know some things never change._

Toothless made one last sweep around the mountain, dropping lower as he spiralled round. Down in the training arena, Astrid was busy drilling hopefuls in the art of dragon riding. It seemed to actually be going well; apart from the fact that a few of the dragons had fallen asleep, and were refusing to rise no matter how much they were pleaded with, shouted at and shoved. She taught her class the trick of carefully pinching the back of a dragon's neck - they would wake up instantly and on alert, but they also thought they were under attack, so you had to make sure you weren't in their line of fire.

 _I passed the title of 'Head of the Dragon Academy' to Astrid; after all, she's the next most talented rider we have. True, she can be a little tough on them...but that just means they'll improve faster...right?_

Toothless glided down towards the great hall. They did a trick or two for the benefit of the children gathered on the steps, who clapped and cheered, delighted. The kids, as well as a few dragons, were there listening to Fishlegs teaching them about dragons. He was actually the Deputy Head of the Academy, on top of being apprenticed to the village officiator. Whilst Astrid would teach the adults and older teens how to ride, Fishlegs taught the younger generation about proper care of dragons."Now, what's the most important thing we need to remember about dragons?" he asked his small charges.

"If you give dragons patience, respect and trust, they'll give it back to you" the youngsters chanted dutifully.

"Well done, everyone! Okay, I think that's enough for today, you guys go and play" he said. The kids scurried off, dragons in tow. "Hi Toothless, Hiccup. Your dad's inside, waiting for you" Fishlegs told his friend, as the black dragon landed outside the great hall.

Hiccup dismounted and thanked him, before pushing the door to the hall open and striding inside. The village council was already gathered within; Stoick, standing at the head of the table, visibly cheered when his son entered. "Hiccup! You're just in time, have a seat" he declared, pulling one out with a horrible grating sound against the stone floor. Everyone flinched, including Toothless. The young man walked over and sat down on his father's right hand side. His dragon lay down nearby and dozed, not particularly interested in what they were talking about, but wanting to be close to Hiccup.

 _I've changed the most, of course. I'm heart bound to my best friend, I'm training to be chief in a few years, and soon, I'm going to get married to the girl of my dreams. If this first year alone has been so eventful, I can't imagine what the next two hundred or so are going to be like._

* * *

That afternoon, the village appeared to be deserted but for the sound of raucous cheering, whipping wind and nervous bleating. A small cluster of sheep galloped through the streets unchecked, hiding from their pursuing shadows and pausing to nibble grass. Other sheep were scattered all over the island, in milling clusters or on their own, instinctively trying to avoid the large predators that sped about in search of them.

 _Life here on Berk is amazing...just not for the faint of heart. You see, where most folk enjoy hobbies like whittling or needlepoint, we Berkians prefer..._

One sheep wandered out of an alley, drawn by the scent of fresher grass on the far side of the open space. No sooner had it trotted out than it was snatched from the ground and lifted bodily into the air.

 _...A little something we like to call..._

Dragons barrelled through the village, weaving around obstacles and attempting, along with their riders, to distract and knock each other off course. They whooshed overhead to the sound of thunderous applause and cheering, as the villagers gathered in stands to watch their new favourite sport...

 _DRAGON RACING!_

"Whoo!" Fishlegs yelled, waving a fist in the air as Meatlug flew grasping a sheep in her claws, her wings beating like a bumblebees and tongue lolling happily. Both their good moods were abruptly and rudely interrupted, when a certain monstrous nightmare and his immature rider jolted the sheep out of Meatlug's grasp and snatched it up themselves.

"Ho, ho! Aw, I'm sorry, Fishlegs, did you want that?" Snotlout asked mockingly. The huskier man glared at him and Meatlug growled, annoyed, at Hookfang. *You could have hurt us!* she protested, more concerned for her rider than herself. Her Fishlegs was sensitive...

Hookfang rolled his yellow eyes and retorted *Lighten up, Luggy, I didn't break any rules. Not my fault you can't dodge*.

"Snotlout, that was mine!"

Hookfang flung his wings out and braked, falling back towards B&B. For reasons that had thus far escaped him, his rider had chosen Barf's female rider to be his desired...he supposed because Stormfly's rider was taken, but he didn't really know what Snotlout saw in Ruffnut. Then again, they _were_ humans. He flew just underneath B &B, close enough for Snotlout to toss Ruffnut the sheep.

"Here ya go, babe" he said with a grin that was meant to be chivalrous, but instead looked slimy. Ruffnut sneered at him, a mockery of a smile. Normally she would have _loved_ the idea of a man fighting for her affections…just not _this_ man. *How often do you think she'll have to reject him before he gets the hint?* Barf asked Hookfang, who merely rolled his eyes and gave a non-committal grunt. How was he supposed to know?

"Did I tell you, you look amazing today? Cause you do".

"Ugh, let's go Barf, it's starting to stink around here" Ruffnut grumbled. Barf&Belch got the hint at once – they were as mischievous as their riders in many ways - and breathed out a trail of noxious green gas.

*Don't you even dare-!* Hookfang exclaimed, but it was too late.

"Nope, still hates you!" Tuffnut told Snotlout cheerfully, "Let's blow this place, Belch!"

*If you insist!* The left head lived up to his name and burped a flurry of sparks, that ignited the gas and triggered a glorious explosion. Luckily for Snotlout, his dragon had the sense to veer away before his rider could get too scorched. Hookfang preferred it when he could actually _see_ the results of an explosion; that was far more entertaining. He couldn't see Snotlout getting scorched when the man was riding him, now could he?

The Zippleback flew over the stands, and Ruff dropped the sheep into a hatch with a backboard bearing B&B's image. Bleating, it fell into a rope net – on top of five other sheep. Stoick, who was presiding over the game, announced loudly "Ha, ha! That's six for the twins, four for Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout trail with none, and Hiccup is"-

Just at that moment, a Night Fury zoomed around the course, eliciting even more cheers as another sheep was dropped off…into Astrid's basket. "Okay, now Ruffnut and Astrid are tied, because the boys apparently don't understand how this game works!" Stoick declared, and everyone laughed. Toothless, who had made a lap of the stands, slowed to a hover so that Hiccup could call to his father, "I'm being a gentleman!" Fresh, good natured laughter greeted this remark as the red streaked pair rushed off again.

Stormfly swooped in and twirled over Hookfang, showing off. "Nice try, Snotlout" Astrid smirked at him, "But I'm still gonna win!"

"Only because your stupid fiancé keeps cheating for you!"

"Hey, if Hiccup wants me to win, I'm not gonna stop him. Besides, you're not even _trying_ to win; you gave your sheep to Ruffnut!"

"She's my princess! Whatever she wants, she gets!"

" _Ruffnut?_ " Astrid repeated incredulously, "Didn't she try to bury you alive?"

"Only for a few hours!" he insisted, as if it were no big deal. Hookfang and Stormfly banked and glided through a hangar and some of the nests built into the caves below the island. The Whispering Death and Screaming Death tunnels from a while back had turned out to be really useful for storing supplies and digging out places for dragons to call their own. Hiccup had to mediate quite a lot, but after he gained the ability to understand and speak to dragons directly, it was much easier to settle disputes.

With six sheep in one basket, and five in the other, it all came down to the final lap. "It's time, Gobber" Stoick prompted the blacksmith, who nodded.

"Righty-ho! LAST LAP!" Gobber bellowed to the crowd, hurrying out of the stands to make sure everything was in position. A loud horn sounded and all the dragons turned and raced back towards the stands.

"The black sheep!" cried Astrid, "Come on, Stormfly, we can win this thing!"

*Definitely!* Stormfly roared excitedly.

"Come on, Barf!"

"Let's go!"

"Go, Meatlug!"

*We could win this easily, you know* Toothless reminded Hiccup, who laughed and replied, "Nah, let Astrid have this one. We'll beat her in the next game".

Gobber loaded the twelfth, black sheep onto a catapult. The black sheep was worth ten points, instead of one, so whoever caught it would have an instant win…assuming they actually bothered to put it into their own basket. "This is your big moment" he told the thoroughly alarmed sheep cheerfully, "Have a nice flight!"

With that, he pulled the trigger, flinging the poor sheep high into the air. Astrid gripped her saddle's handlebars tightly as Stormfly climbed up to catch it, talons outstretched. "You got it, you got it, you got it-!"

Out of nowhere, Meatlug barrelled past and nabbed the sheep, forcing Stormfly to jinx to avoid a mid-air collision. *Sorry, Stormfly!* the Gronckle called back in her deep, croaky voice.

"NO!" Astrid yelled in dismay, unable to believe it. They'd been _so close!_

"YES! Good job, Meatlug!" Fishlegs praised; but before they could reach their net, they flew past B&B, and Ruffnut rammed them with Barf's head. Startled, Meatlug was knocked aside and flew right into Hookfang; the two of them tumbled over each other, snarling in annoyance and rumbling in apology. The crowd were going wild.

"Yeah! The black sheep!" Ruffnut yelled gleefully, "I'm totally winning! Whoo-hoo! No one can stop me now!"

"Except for me – we're attached, genius!" Tuffnut shouted, ignoring the fact that they were supposed to be in it together. He made a grab at the sheep, inciting a tug of war. "Quit trying"-

" _Hey_!"

"To steal all my glory!" he finished. Stormfly raced in behind B&B – briefly, she wondered where Toothless-Hiccup had gone. Astrid couldn't care less where they were so long as they didn't snatch her victory away at the last moment (Hiccup had gotten into a sweet but irritating habit of letting her win one day, and then beating her without even trying the next. Said he was keeping her on her toes. She'd show him keeping someone on their toes…)

She stood up on Stormfly's back, keeping her balance easily. Stoick stood up in his seat. He could see his sons circling the stands like vultures high above – obviously Hiccup was still being chivalrous – and yelled "Get 'em, Astrid!"

"It's my glory!"

"You're always ruining everything!"

" _No sheep, no glory!_ "

Astrid leapt off Stormfly, ran up Belch's spindly neck, and snatched the black sheep deftly from the bickering twin's hands. "Ha! Gotcha!" she cheered, leaping back onto Stormfly.

"Well played!" Stoick cheered loudly, " _That's_ my future daughter in law!"

True, Hiccup had not proposed yet...but it was only a matter of time.

Stormfly raced towards the finish line, her and Astrid's eyes on the prize…but out of the corner of her eye she noticed Meatlug flying straight for her - *It's nothing personal, Storm!* - and had to veer away to avoid getting hit, putting her right in the path of Hookfang. Snotlout was already aiming his war hammer at Astrid, intending to force her to drop the sheep so that he…could put it in his own basket, because wooing Ruffnut was one thing, but he wanted to win!

He hurled the hammer, giving them little time to react – but Toothless and Hiccup had seen everything from above the stands, they'd figured out Snotlout's plan before he'd even gotten into position. The crowd roared as loud as a dragon when the night fury dove in between Hookfang and Stormfly, firing a plasma blast and stopping the hammer throw in its tracks. Hiccup hurriedly opened the tail fin. Toothless flung his wings out and reared back, but they were too close to the water; his tail and hind legs splashed into the cold sea, eliciting a yelp. *You owe me a ton of cod for that!*

Stormfly easily dodged Hookfang's stream of fire (mostly because he wasn't really trying to aim for her, but still) and swept over the hatches, letting Astrid drop the black sheep into her basket. The crowd went wild, cheering and applauding Astrid for winning, and Hiccup for his daring, chivalrous rescue.

"That's fifteen!" Stoick yelled, delighted, "Astrid takes the game!"

"YEAH!" she shouted, standing up in the stirrups and punching the air, grinning madly. She and Stormfly made a lap of the stands, the dragon angling herself so that Astrid could high five as many Berkians as possible. Then to top it all off, they flew past Toothless, who was hovering above the hatches in the middle of the arena. Astrid jumped off Stormfly onto Toothless' back, and when Hiccup looked over his shoulder at her, she grabbed his face and gave him a toe-curling, blush inducing snog as a 'thank you'.

Humans cheered, dragons roared, and Gobber yelled "Get a room, you two!"

Stoick laughed. He was so _proud_ of his son!

Astrid jumped back onto Stormfly, hovering nearby, and the two dragons raced up into the sky, spiralling around each other and firing celebratory blasts of fire into the air, their riders whooping and cheering like mad. Hiccup's cheeks ached but he couldn't stop smiling; that had been a ton of fun and oh gods, that kiss was _amazing._ If helping Astrid win made her snog him like that, maybe he'd do it all the time!

 _Yep, life is pretty much perfect. All of our hard work has paid off; and it's a good thing, too, because with Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger._

* * *

A/N: So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the prologue – and I hope you all enjoy reading _Dragon Soul!_


	2. Where No One Goes

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'Where No One Goes' (Jonsi / Peter Hollens cover), 'Trail We Blaze' (Elton John) and 'I Won't Give Up' (Jason Mraz).

Chapter One – Where No One Goes

The boundless horizon stretched as far as the eye could see, brimming with potential and freedom. A dragon streaked across the expanse of surging waves, his obsidian wings stretched out and skimming over the surface of the water. On his back lay a slight figure, dressed in a snug, aerodynamic suit of black and brown leather armour. A helmet covered the man's face, leaving only his bright, forest green eyes visible.

Toothless caught up with a school of breaching wild Thunderdrums - or Bellowers, as they called themselves. He elegantly weaved and swerved between them; then Hiccup swung himself back into the saddle properly and with a tilt of the stirrup-pedal, adjusted the scarlet prosthetic left tail fin. Toothless performed a quick barrel roll right under a thunderdrum's wing, before heading skywards. "Yeah!"

Rapidly gaining altitude, the pair soared amongst the clouds, following their contours in graceful swoops and banks. Hiccup was so used to riding, so utterly in sync with Toothless, that from a distance one could be forgiven for not noticing the dragon had a rider at all. Toothless flew up and over in a twisting loop the loop, glancing back at Hiccup when they were upside down and giving a rumbling, affectionate croon, happy that he was happy.

They dropped towards the ocean; then he spread his wings wide and climbed once more. He tucked his wings in and spun, faster and faster, making them both dizzy and giddy in the thin air. Hiccup leaned back, letting go with one hand as Toothless spread his wings and fell back towards the earth, a wide toothless smile on his face. They briefly spun upside down before levelling out again and climbing once more, coming level with timberjacks.

Hiccup spread his arms wide, revelling in the sheer, unbridled freedom. Cybil had called him a dragon inside, and he knew she was right. He hadn't known he wanted to fly, needed to fly, until he met Toothless and had to go where no one had gone before. Now he couldn't imagine his life without his best friend, his brother, and the two of them soaring through the skies. When he was up here, amongst the clouds, all of life's troubles seemed so far away.

There was only one way this could get better...Hiccup lowered the handlebar on its hinged rod and fit it into a groove on the saddle. He'd made a few adjustments to the flying gear; the harness was now secured with three leather straps, all joined by a padded disc engraved with the Berk insignia, and he'd added compartments to the larger saddle. The biggest one, beneath where he sat, contained a blanket for him to lie on when they went camping. At the sides were two rectangular spaces into which he could tuck paper, snacks, water skins and anything else small enough to fit.

With the handlebar neatly put away, so Toothless would be streamlined, Hiccup patted his friend's shoulder and asked "So what d'you think, bud? You wanna give this another shot?"

Toothless rolled his eyes and gave an annoyed gurgle. He should have known Hiccup would want to do something like this, easily guessing what his oh so predictable little brother was planning. *Not particularly, no*.

"Toothless, it'll be fine!" Hiccup chuckled, which did little to put the dragon's mind at ease. Those words coming from Hiccup were usually a recipe for disaster. He brought his prosthetic foot forward, opening the tail fin to its fullest extent, and then yanked a lever up to lock it in place. He pulled his feet from the stirrups, unhooked the safety lines from the carabiner on his belt, and sat bolt upright. "Ready?"

*I suppose* Toothless replied with an unenthusiastic snort, that didn't fool Hiccup for a moment. He leaned over and fell out of the saddle, plummeting towards the unforgiving ocean below. Toothless quickly beat and then folded his wings, diving in pursuit. "Yeaaah!" Hiccup yelled in delight, their shared blood rushing through his veins and pooling in his brain. He was more than used to the dizzying head rush.

Toothless tucked his wings in and spun to catch up, until he and Hiccup were falling together, orbiting each other. "Whoo-hoo! Yeah!" Hiccup grinned at his best friend, though only the creases of his eyes were visible. Nonetheless, Toothless grinned back, his tongue lolling playfully. What was it about free falling that was so much fun?!

They both twisted in the air so they were facing the same way. When they burst through wisps of white cloud, Hiccup could see white spray atop the waves far below. He stuck his wrists through two loops attached to his shins, and then immediately held his arms out and rod straight. The material folded beneath his armour spread out and caught the wind, letting him glide at considerable speed just ahead of Toothless. Hiccup quickly pressed a disc on his chest plate, which caused a fin to spring from his back, further stabilising his flight.

He glanced over his shoulder at Toothless, who gave him a gummy smile and asked, *Having fun?*

Hiccup concentrated hard, and managed to reply in thought-speak. *Yes!*

He had figured, if he could hear thought-speak now, why shouldn't he be able to use it? However, it had proved to be harder than he expected. Think-speaking was a matter of intending particular thoughts to be heard. It sounded so simple, but Hiccup's mind just wasn't used to projecting like that. He could spend ages trying to say something in thought-speak and get nowhere, but then accidentally project a thought he didn't intend to have broadcasted. The other dragons said it was normal, hatchlings learned to use thought-speak in much the same way - but it came more quickly to them.

Still, he didn't dwell on it, as they skimmed across the wispy clouds. Toothless fired a few well aimed, weak fire blasts; they exploded at just the right time for the rising heat to lift Hiccup higher, briefly. "Whoa!" he laughed, delighted, shouting "This is amazing!" Of all the prototype wings he'd built, this was the best one yet.

He glided through a patch of white fog and found himself face to face with a large sea stack. "No longer amazing" he decided, "Toothless!"

Once he might have panicked; but Hiccup had been taking tips on gliding and landing from dragons themselves for months now. He tucked his knees and elbows in, arching his back and using his legs the way a dragon would use their tail, to realign himself. He dropped down, intending to land in the saddle. Unfortunately, Toothless had fallen just a little too far behind, and hadn't caught up in time.

"Aaah!" he yelled as he kept falling, right in front of Toothless. The dragon roared in alarm and reached out to grab Hiccup, gripping the leather pauldrons in his claws. His broad wings beat furiously as he hovered. Hiccup reached back and managed to grab hold of a strap on the saddle. "Ready? On three. One, two...three!"

Toothless let go with his right paw, and struggled to stay airborne with Hiccup's extra weight hanging off his left side. He couldn't, and they tumbled down, twisting. In a way that was better, because Hiccup could more easily move into position, and get back into the saddle. It wasn't the first time he'd had to do this, and it wouldn't be the last. With the help of Toothless' split apart back fins, they managed to pull up out of the tailspin and landed on a grassy bluff.

"Man, that really came out of nowhere!" Hiccup joked as he dismounted, trying to make light of it all. He started tucking his wings away, saying "We really need to work on your solo gliding, eh bud? Your split fins aren't much good if you can't keep up with me". He wound his own fin back down against his spine, and pulled his helmet off, running a hand through his messy mop of auburn hair. A scattering of telltale hairs were growing on his jaw and chin.

He took a deep breath and smiled, gazing out at the craggy, forested vista, coloured in autumn hues. The sunlight made the light fog sparkle; it looked beautiful. "Looks like we've found another one" he remarked. They had been camping out on the Isle of Night with Astrid when they'd decided to go for an early morning flight...as in, they'd woken up at dawn, been unable to fall asleep again, and left a brief note for the still slumbering Astrid to tell her where they'd gone. This was the furthest east - well, south east - they had flown so far. He'd just map this island and then they'd head back.

*Hooray* Toothless said with grumpy sarcasm. Hiccup looked back and saw, much to his amusement, that his dragon was sulking. "Aww, are you mad that we nearly crashed? Is that why you're pouting, big baby boo?" he teased with a mocking pout of his own.

Toothless rolled his eyes. *I'm forty years older than you*.

"Yeah, well act your age then" Hiccup challenged. Toothless gave an annoyed glare, but the worried croon that issued from his throat belied his true feelings. *You could have been hurt* he said finally, *If I hadn't caught you...*

"You'll always catch me" Hiccup said confidently, "Come on, buddy, don't be like that...or I'm gonna do this!" He lunged and shoved Toothless with all his might, heaving and tugging. The Night Fury just sat there, literally unmoved by his daft little brother's fruitless attempts to wrestle with him. "Ha, ya feeling it yet? Picking up on all my heartfelt remorse?" Hiccup laughed, his arms wrapped around Toothless' thick neck.

*You mean you're sorry?*

"Yeah".

*You're not sorry* said Toothless, suddenly rearing back on his hind legs, *but you will be!*

He waddled towards the edge of the cliff, Hiccup dangling in front of him. "You're not scaring me, y'know. Uh huh, sure, there's no way you're gonna do any"-

Toothless leaned out over the edge, and Hiccup made the mistake of glancing down at the ocean, undoubtedly filled with rocks just beneath the surface. "Aaah!" He clung on tighter and hastily rambled "Okay, okay! I give! You win!"

The dragon chuckled throatily and staggered backwards, toppling over onto his back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hiccup laughed as they tumbled over, the wind nearly getting knocked out of him as he landed flat on his back. "Oh, he's down! And it's ugly!"

*You can't escape!* Toothless declared with a playful mock-growl, batting at Hiccup lightly with his paw, *I, the mighty Night Fury, will defeat you!*

"Never! No dragon can defeat me; I fought a dragon the size of a mountain! You're no match for the great Dragon Mas"- he groaned as Toothless slumped down, the dragon's heavy head pinning his chest to the ground.

*I win!* he declared, and decided to celebrate his victory by giving Hiccup a bath. The young man squirmed and spluttered, protesting the sudden, enthusiastic licking and tickling. Hiccup rolled out of the way and got to his feet, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "You _know_ that doesn't wash out!"

*Why do you think I keep doing it?* Toothless laughed. Hiccup flicked some of his own spit back in his face. "You get what you give" he retorted, when Toothless looked annoyed. Then he wandered off to get a better look at the island they'd come across. From beneath his chest plate he took a small brown book; once he'd used it for notes and sketches, and he still did, but now it also held his map of the archipelago.

He spread the folded papers out on the ground, and pulled a fresh piece from beneath the gauntlet on his right forearm. A bit of sticky night fury saliva, and he added a new piece to his map, before working out whereabouts this new island would go. "So, what should we name it?" he asked as he sketched out a bit of the view. He'd have to come back and draw it from above as well.

Toothless didn't reply, too busy nibbling at an itch under his left foreleg.

"Itchy Armpit it is".

* _No_ *.

"Well, what do you want to call it?"

*How about 'my stupid rider nearly crashed into a cliff again' island?*

"Huh...Crash-cliff Island, I like it". He scribbled the name down beside his sketch. The two of them sat there in companionable silence, until it was broken by a familiar croaking roar and the beating of wings. They looked over their shoulders as a certain Deadly Nadder flew up and landed on the bluff, her rider vaulting off and petting her large muzzle. "Good morning, milady" Hiccup smiled happily, as Toothless bounded over to greet Astrid and Stormfly.

"Hiccup!" she cried, scolding, "What were you _thinking_?" Absently she patted Toothless as he passed, striding towards Hiccup, who was getting to his feet.

"What's wrong?" He winced when she swatted his shoulder, "What was that for?"

"For just _leaving_ me on Isle of Night, and flying off on Toothless!"

"But… you were sleeping! And I left a note!"

"Hiccup, you can't _do_ this!" Astrid snapped, frustrated. He blinked at her. "Oh, you know what I mean! What if I hadn't woken up in time? You could have been in trouble and I'd have got there too late and"- she suddenly looked frightened, and impulsively threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Toothless wasn't the only one who had become more over-protective of him since Myrkr. He could hardly leave the house without his father demanding to know where he was going, he had to take someone with him, they had to be back before sunset - _"Hiccup are you even listening?"_

He thought it was a bit silly; he'd had more than a few near death experiences, and sure, in his own way he was just as much a magnet for trouble as the twins…but they couldn't keep him sheltered forever. "I'm sorry I worried you" he murmured contritely, releasing his hold on Astrid so he could look at her properly, "But believe it or not, I can take care of myself. Oh, welcome to Crash-cliff Island, by the way" said Hiccup, putting an arm around her shoulders and gesturing to the vista before them.

She smiled at the view, and then eyed Hiccup suspiciously. "Did you name it that because you actually crashed?"

"No!" he replied at once. Astrid raised an eyebrow. He sighed and confessed, "Okay, we almost crashed – but we didn't! We just made a…slight miscalculation. Don't worry about it".

"Oh, gods! See, this is why you can't go off on your own!" she cried, exasperated.

"I would have crashed even if someone else was there" Hiccup protested without thinking; he quickly added "And besides, I'm never on my own".

Astrid rolled her eyes a bit. "Toothless doesn't count. He's just as bad as you are".

"Oh, trust me, he's been every bit as over-protective as you and my dad. I had to _convince_ him to go flying. He was sulking when we landed here, you know. He was all", Hiccup dropped his voice a few octaves and layered on the sarcasm, "Hooray, my stupid rider nearly crashed into a cliff again, let's name the island after it".

*I do _not_ sound like that!* Toothless retorted without looking, tugging on the large branch in his mouth as he played tug of war with Stormfly.

"Aw, sorry, bud!" Astrid said in a nasally sort of way, bouncing her shoulders and doing her own, slightly exaggerated impression of Hiccup, "I guess no matter what, I can't stop getting into trouble, even though I should _know better_ ".

Hiccup stared at her, torn between amusement and indignation. "Okay, first of all, I don't sound like that, who- what is this character? And second... what is that thing you're doing with your shoulders?" he demanded. She kept doing it, laughing, and he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's a really flattering impersonation" he grumbled.

"Thanks".

"Two can play at that game" said Hiccup, picking up a branch off the ground. He put one hand on his hip, and held the branch over his shoulder like a weapon. "Hi, I'm Astrid, and I ride a Nadder called Stormfly!" he said in a high pitched voice, grinning. Astrid gaped at him, indignant.

"I like throwing axes and hitting my fiance on the arm, just because he let me sleep in and went on a quick flight at the crack of dawn!" he continued – but his impersonation was cut short when Astrid hit his arm again, harder this time.

"Shut up" she snapped, no laughter in her voice. Hiccup dropped the stick. "I woke up and you were gone" she said quietly, "You could have woken us. Stormfly and I like dawn flights too. Or, or what, would you rather spend time with your...your big brother, best friend forever, heart bound soulmate Night Fury, than with me?" she demanded. Before Hiccup could answer, the dragons rushed past playing tag, and Toothless accidentally (maybe on purpose) knocked Astrid into his arms.

The two of them tumbled over each other, and Astrid landed on top of Hiccup. She quickly stood up, clearing her throat and helping him to his feet. Hiccup sighed and reached out to take her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. "I really did just want to let you sleep; you looked so peaceful. I'm sorry I worried you, really...but it's not like I haven't gotten myself into _and_ out of trouble plenty of times before. And besides, you know Toothless would never let anything happen to me. When has he ever let me down?"

Astrid sighed, and admitted "He hasn't".

"When have _I_ ever let _you_ down?"

Another pause, and then... "You haven't".

"Astrid, I told you; being heart bound to Toothless doesn't mean that I love him _more_ than you. That isn't how love works; it's not, it's not finite. Toothless and I are soulmates, but what _we_ have", he squeezed her hand for emphasis, "that's special too. Why wouldn't I want to spend time with my gorgeous, brave, definitely-not-mad-at-me-anymore fiance?"

 _He is such an adorable dork_ Astrid thought, but she was trying not to blush. Hiccup had changed a lot after Myrkr. He spent more time with her and his father, savouring every moment, because he knew they'd be gone before he was. She supposed she'd been silly to panic; Hiccup could take care of himself, for the most part, and he did need his space just like anyone else.

"You're such a dork" she laughed, unable to stay mad at him - or at Toothless, because he always meant well and gods knew that dragon couldn't bear to say no to his precious rider. Hiccup could be so damn stubborn sometimes. She gave him a peck on the cheek; and grimaced, wiping her mouth off.

"Oh, yeah – sorry" Hiccup winced apologetically, "I thought I'd wiped it all off".

"Eh, it doesn't matter" she shrugged. Hiccup went back to sketching, glancing at Astrid with a small smile when she began to braid his hair. It was a habit she'd gotten into, he didn't really know why, but he much preferred it to getting punched in the arm. The second one was probably going to bruise.

"So, what are we gonna do now?"

"Explore this island, I guess. Unless you had something else in mind" he remarked with what he meant to be a suggestive smirk. Astrid rolled her eyes and retorted, "Yeah, when you're not covered in dragon spit, I'll think about it".

Hiccup pulled a cloth from one of his pockets and vigorously scrubbed his face clean of spit. "That's better. C'mere, you" he said, turning to Astrid and pressing a kiss to her lips. It was supposed to be a quick one but she held him there and deepened it, running her fingers through his hair. Yet even as the kiss grew more passionate, he noticed that their surroundings were oddly quiet…

Astrid pulled away to breathe, and Hiccup glanced over at the dragons – who were both standing there, staring at them curiously. "Gah!" he jumped, dislodging Astrid as well, "Really?! Don't you two have anything better to do than watch us?"

*Were you going to mate?* Stormfly asked him with a curious croon – although for her kind it was more of a high pitched croak. Mortified, Hiccup went bright red and spluttered "W-what? No! Stormfly!"

"What's she saying?" asked Astrid. Hiccup's newfound ability to understand dragons was one of the side effects of his heart bind that she didn't have much of a problem with. It had proven very useful, even if it was a bit odd to overhear him talking to the dragons or have him say things out of nowhere in reply to them. How in the world he managed when humans and dragons were talking all at once, as they must often do, she had no idea.

"You don't wanna know". He folded his map back up and tucked it away again, before getting back to his feet and helping Astrid to hers. The two of them shared another hug, just enjoying each other's presence. Stormfly's nostrils flared as she picked up a scent on the wind; her head perked up and tilted as she tried to get a better view. Toothless sniffed as well and padded past the others to the edge of the cliff. *Hiccup, look at this*.

"What is it?" he asked; he and Astrid went over to the black dragon, who pointed with his snout at the horizon. There, between the mountains, there trailed a plume of thick black smoke. *It smells like dragonfire* said Stormfly.

Hiccup relayed this information to Astrid, and then gave her a bow and asked her, "Well, milady, shall we go and investigate?"

"We shall, good sir" she replied with a dainty curtsey. They both giggled. In no time at all they were back in the saddle and flying towards the source of the smoke. "I'm gonna get you back for that impression, by the way".

"I'd expect nothing less".

* * *

It wasn't long before they were flying, not over a forest, but over the remains of one. Scorched and blackened leafless trunks sailed past them as they glided lower…then the dragons swerved past outcrops of rock, and hovered over the ocean. Dragons and riders alike stared in bewilderment at what looked like a huge, spiky, turquoise coloured iceberg. There were bits of wood embedded in it, as if it had burst from beneath some building.

*What is that?* wondered Stormfly.

*It's ice* Toothless couldn't resist deadpanning. Hiccup flicked his ear fin, silently scolding, and looked over his shoulder at Astrid. "Let's get a better look" he suggested. She swallowed and nodded.

Their dragons flew up and circled the ice, their riders looking down at it. They could see the remains of huts, walkways…a whole fort, it seemed, but broken and crushed by the inexplicable burst of frigid ice. "What happened here?" Hiccup wondered aloud.

Toothless glanced down and saw what looked like gigantic footprints in the mud of the peninsula the fort seemed to have been built on. They were big enough to belong to a Red Death…or worse. *I don't like this* he said, snarling with unease.

"It's okay" Hiccup reached out to stroke his head, "Don't wor"-

"FIRE! _"_

"Hiccup!"

A net spun through the air towards them; Toothless pulled back, the net just missing him, only to strike Stormfly. Her wings entangled, she tumbled down, screeching in fear. Astrid tried to tear the net off, only to lose her balance and be thrown off as her dragon flailed, panicking. "Aaah! Hiccup!"

Toothless snatched her from the air before she could hit the water and swooped around to go back for Stormfly. The Nadder landed with a thud on the beach, struggling to her feet and shaking the net off her wings. Humans rushed towards her with more ropes, loud and threatening. *Get away!* she roared, flicking her tail and flinging spikes at them all. The humans ducked and dodged; her spikes embedded in a fallen post, over which one man leapt, crying "Watch the tail!"

He jumped right at Stormfly, who was so caught off guard by this unexpected frontal assault that she didn't immediately spin round and skewer him with another few spines. He was stronger than he looked, knocking her to the ground and struggling to pin her head down. Like any dragon, Stormfly knew the humans couldn't understand her, she couldn't just _ask_ to be let go, but she struggled for all she was worth. "Ah! Tie those legs up!"

*No, _don't_ tie me up!*

An ear piercing shriek sounded above them; the trapper struggling to muzzle Stormfly looked up at a black dragon swooping down towards them, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Is that what I think it is…?"

"Whoa, watch out!"

"Get out of the way!"

"STOP!" Hiccup shouted at the top of his lungs as Toothless pulled out of the dive, dropping Astrid safely on the ground.

"Stormfly!" cried Astrid, running for her dragon, only for the men around them to close in, "What are you doing?!"

Hiccup leapt off Toothless' back and snatched Inferno from his thigh, deploying the flaming blade and brandishing it. Astrid grabbed a fallen spear handle and held it defensively. Toothless hunched his shoulders and snarled aggressively at the strangers, who were staring at Hiccup's flaming sword in amazement. They'd never seen anything like it before.

*What took you so long?*

"Well, soil my britches" the head trapper muttered, staring at Toothless. Out loud he said, "That _is_ a Night Fury. And to think I didn't believe the rumours. Looks like our luck's had a turn for the better, lads! Don't think Drago has one of those in his dragon army" he declared, pointing his short sword at Toothless.

"Dragon army?" the young blonde woman repeated questioningly. Then her boyfriend with the flaming sword – really, that was just showing off – stepped in front of the night fury and glared at him. "Don't even think about it" the boy said warningly, "And let Stormfly go, _right now_ ".

"Oh? Am I supposed to ask, 'or else?'" the head trapper asked mockingly. The smirk on his face slid off seconds later. "Listen, pal, maybe you should've thought twice about coming back here after you went and blasted our fort to bits!"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Astrid asked incredulously. Hiccup gestured to the spikes of ice and asked, "You think _we_ did this?"

"Dragon trapping is hard enough work as it is" the chin-tattooed man continued, stepping onto Stormfly's spines and head - *Really?!* She squawked indignantly – "Without do-gooder dragon riders sneaking into rescue them".

*More riders?* wondered Toothless, drawing Hiccup's attention to that fact. It couldn't be any rider they knew...could it? "Someone came and rescued all the dragons you captured? Good on them" said Astrid, "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Now get off my dragon!"

"Dragons don't deserve to be trapped and sold for profit; they're not like other animals, they're _people_ " Hiccup insisted, ignoring the trapper's disbelieving stares. "Who rescued them, anyway? I'd really like to meet him - or her".

"Oh, like you don't know. Don't start preaching to us about dragons after your thieving friend from last night cost us all of ours. You may have an ice-spitting dragon on your side, but we still have a quota to fill. How do you suppose we explain this mess to Drago Bludvist?"

"We have _no_ idea what you're talking about" Astrid protested, "Who the heck is Drago whatsit?"

"He's expecting a new shipment of dragons for his army by tomorrow" one of the other trappers revealed. A second added "And Drago don't take well to excuses".

The lead trapper jumped off Stormfly at last and pulled his shirt down, showing a red brand mark on his collarbone. " _This_ is what he gave me the last time I turned up empty handed. He promised to be far less understanding in the future".

"Look, we don't know anything about a dragon thief, or an ice spitting dragon" – Toothless, watching the trapper warily, didn't miss the quick glance and brief nod he made to someone behind them and tensed – "Or your lunatic boss and his dragon army" said Hiccup, "Just give us back our dragon, and we'll go. Strange, hostile person whom we've never met" he added sarcastically.

*They're behind us* warned Toothless, subtly brushing his tail against Astrid's leg to signal her to get ready. He just hoped she'd get the message…

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Eret, son of Eret. Finest dragon trapper alive" the man boasted, "After all…it's not just anyone who can capture a Night Fury".

Toothless growled at him. *It's not you, either. We're leaving!*

" _My_ Night Fury says we're leaving" Hiccup announced, before suddenly shouting, " _Now!_ "

He spun around to face the other men sneaking up behind them, and with one slash of Inferno _,_ cut the first man's weapon in half. _Thank you, Gronckle Iron._ He stared dumbly at the stump of it, before reeling back as Hiccup punched him in the face. Astrid made short work of the trapper sneaking up on her, blocking his blow with her spear handle and kicking him hard in the stomach, winding him. Toothless swiftly charged a plasma blast and fired it at an icicle above the rest of the hunters – it crashed down, they yelled and dived for cover.

*You could have done that in the first place!* Stormfly protested as Hiccup rushed over and cut her free, but she was grateful nonetheless.

"Stormfly! C'mon, go, go, go!" Astrid urged her, running alongside her dragon and vaulting onto Stormfly's back when she briefly crouched to take off. Hiccup was already in the saddle and the air; the four of them flew up out of range as fast as they could.

"You will _never_ hold onto those dragons, you hear me!" Eret yelled after them, "Drago is coming for them all!"


	3. Warnings Given

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

Chapter Two - Warnings Given

"Should we be worried?" Astrid asked as their dragons flew over the ocean between Crash-Cliff and the Isle of Night. Hiccup called back, "You mean about the trappers and their nutcase boss who's building a dragon army? Nah, why would we be worried about that?" he asked sarcastically.

She shot him a 'not-funny' glower and said, "If you ask me, they were talking nonsense. I've never even _heard_ of this Drago guy".

"Me neither, but he sounds unpleasant".

Toothless spoke up. *I just remembered something*.

Hiccup made an inquisitive noise, prompting the dragon to continue and explain, *I don't like to think about it, but…you remember that jerk wanted you to train dragons for war, right? That's what humans use armies for, isn't it?*

At first Hiccup tried to reply in thought-speak, but it didn't work. He huffed, irritated, and said aloud "Yeah, good point. Toothless just reminded me, that jerk wanted me to train dragons for war, possibly for this 'dragon army'…and now that I think about it, he said he had a boss…so maybe those hunters were working for Drago whatshisname as well" he explained to Astrid.

Now she definitely looked worried. "Hiccup, if that jerk really was working for this guy, and he was so awful…"

"How much worse must his employer be?" he finished for her, "That's just what I was thinking. We should tell my dad about this – maybe he'll know something we don't" he suggested. They urged their dragons onwards – the wind had changed direction, they could ride it much of the way back to Berk.

* * *

Back on Berk, the rest of the young adult (technically speaking) riders and their dragons were mucking about, enjoying a day off. Snotlout and Hookfang flew past Gothi's hut, where she was tending to her flock of terrible terrors – they scattered, startled, and she grumbled. The moment they'd settled down again, Hookfang swept past once more, and Gothi shook her fist angrily at Snotlout as he guffawed loudly.

Down in the village square, Stoick was walking to Gobber's forge and greeting various villagers as he passed. "Hey, how are you? Beautiful day. Hello, Spitelout, great game today. Oh, sorry, Mrs Ack". He reached the forge and clapped his old friend jovially on the shoulder. "Morning, Gobber. How're things?"

"Eh, not bad" the blacksmith shrugged, "Any sign of the lovebirds?"

"Nope!" chuckled Stoick, "They're probably having the time of their lives out there together…I hope they're together" he added, his expression darkening a bit. It wasn't that he didn't trust Astrid with his son's life, or Toothless, but they both had an unfortunate tendency to go along with his madcap schemes instead of trying to talk him out of it. Admittedly, that was quite difficult…in his own way, Hiccup was 'every bit the stubborn, boar-headed Viking Stoick ever was', as Gobber had once so succinctly put it.

There was a bit of commotion as two dragons landed in the square, and Stoick grinned widely when he turned and saw who had arrived. "Ha, ha, ha, there they are! The heroes of Berk!" he declared proudly, gesturing to Hiccup and Toothless. Ever since Myrkr, when Hiccup and his dragon had become even closer, Stoick had become closer to them both as well. He now outright acknowledged Toothless as Hiccup's honorary brother, as peculiar as it was to have a dragon as a son, especially considering his past history with the beasts.

Hiccup dismounted and walked over to his father. "Hey, dad, could we have a word?"

"Aye, come on over here. Oh, excuse us, Grump" said Stoick as he sidled past Gobber's lazy, dozing Hotburple. Hiccup and Astrid picked their way past as well; their dragons walked the long way around.

"Ah, Grump! You let the forge die down again!" Gobber complained. Grump woke up just long enough to sneeze flames, which set the forge and the blacksmith on fire. Gobber just groaned and splashed water on himself and the blaze. "That's it, Grump, you're going up for adoption!"

The other teens, having noticed their return, met them at the other side of the building. Stoick turned to Hiccup and clapped his hands together. "Right, now what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"We found a new island, south-east of Night Isle" Hiccup began, before being interrupted by Gobber who asked, a bit incredulously, " _Another_ one?"

"Ooh! Did you see any new dragons?" Fishlegs asked eagerly.

"Err, we didn't stick around to find out. The people there weren't particularly friendly".

"Oh, really?" Gobber asked sarcastically, "Your night fury and deadly nadder didn't bring them cheering to the rooftops?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, torn between annoyance and amusement. "No, this was different. Not the standard 'run-for-the hills' hoo-ha I've come to enjoy. These guys were dragon trappers" he said, a bit of bite to his words. He had somewhat of a vendetta against dragon hunters and trappers, for obvious reasons. These particular trappers didn't seem to be quite as bad as Hauke's lot, or the Grimborn's, but he still didn't like them.

"You should've seen their fort" said Astrid, "All blown apart and stuck in giant spikes of ice. It was _weird_!"

"We've never seen anything like it; and they thought we were involved!"

"Y'know, you two are gonna get yourselves in serious trouble one of these days" Gobber remarked, more seriously than before, "Not everyone appreciates this way of life".

"Ach, aye. Gobber's right, son. Best we keep to our own" Stoick agreed.

"That…might not be an option".

"What do you mean?" Stoick frowned.

"Their leader, Eret or something, said they were building a dragon army. Or at least the guy they work for is…I think Hauke might have been working for this guy as well".

"What sort of name is 'Guy'?" Snotlout asked with a scoff. Nobody commented.

"No, no, his name was…err…Dargo Bloodfist, or something" said Hiccup. Stoick froze, and his eyes widened in shock, as did Gobber's.

"I'll bloody _his_ fist with my _face_ if he tries to take my dragon!" Tuffnut announced in a passionate, if nonsensical declaration.

"Or mine!" added Ruffnut. At least she was being enthusiastic.

"Ugh, you're such a moron".

"A beautiful moron" Snotlout flirted. Ruffnut groaned in disgust.

Stoick snapped himself out of his shock and grabbed Hiccup by the shoulders. " _Bludvist? Drago Bludvist_?"

"Yeah, that – wait, you know him?" Hiccup asked, bewildered. He finally noticed how alarmed and stressed his father suddenly looked. Stoick shook his head silently, releasing Hiccup and scraping his broad palms across his face. He actually looked afraid, and it unsettled the others so much that they kept quiet.

At last Stoick swallowed and replied, "Gods, I wish I didn't. All of you, to the Great Hall, now" he ordered. They quickly mounted up and made the short flight over; Hiccup and Snotlout gave his father and Gobber respectively a lift, since Skullcrusher was elsewhere and Grump was, as usual, fast asleep. Once the humans were inside and gathered around the table, Stoick slammed his palms onto it and declared, "Drago Bludvist is a madman, without conscience or mercy - and if he's built a dragon army... gods help us all. Did they say anything else, Hiccup? It's important!" he demanded urgently.

"No. Just some ranting about how Drago was coming for our dragons…but he's all the way up in the north…"

"And these trappers you ran into will go back and tell him about you two. Did they find out where you were from?!" Stoick demanded, before suddenly saying "No, no, that won't make a difference. He'll find us anyway. It's only a matter of time".

"Uh, chief?" asked Astrid, a bit hesitantly, "What does this Drago guy even _want_ with a dragon army?"

"Forcing dragons into an army" Fishlegs scowled, "It's monstrous, it…it's inhuman!"

"Aye, Fishlegs, that it is" Stoick agreed. He sighed heavily, and explained, "Years ago, there was a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced. Into our midst came a stranger from a strange land, covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin. He carried no weapon and spoke softly, saying that he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people, devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons. He claimed that he alone could control the dragons and he alone could keep us safe, if we chose to bow down and follow him".

Snotlout, the twins, and even Fishlegs sniggered. The idea of Vikings bowing down and following anyone was ludicrous – their own chieftains, sure, but a complete stranger?

"Stupid" Ruffnut snorted.

"Ah, good one!" added Tuffnut, the two of them fist bumping.

"Aye, we laughed too" Stoick admitted grimly, "Until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried, _'Then see how well you do without me!'_ The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armored dragons descended, burning the hall to the ground. I… was the only one to escape" he revealed, his eyes dark, lost in the memories of that fateful night. Then he shook himself, and turned to Hiccup, wearing an extremely serious expression. "I know you're good at convincing people to befriend dragons…but men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with" he warned sternly.

Hiccup frowned slightly and replied "Yeah…I know the type. But dad, if this Drago guy really is coming for our dragons, we can't just wait around for him to get here".

"We're not going to" Stoick insisted immediately, "I hate to say this, I really do…but we need to prepare for another dragon war. Hiccup, you need to give a message to the dragons".

"Um, you could give the message. It's not just me that the dragons can understand – I'm just the only person who can understand _them_ ".

"Fine" Stoick said shortly, before striding out of the Meeting Hall. The dragons were waiting outside; Toothless got to his paws when Stoick and Hiccup emerged. The chief put his hands on his hips and declared, "Right! All of you, listen up!"

Toothless, Stormfly and Meatlug looked at the human alpha attentively, crooning _curious,_ but B&B and Hookfang ignored him. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Hiccup winced; he'd tried to explain that just because dragons understood human speech, it didn't necessarily mean they felt inclined to _listen_ to humans. Feeling like he ought to help, he began to say "Err, guys, could you just"-

*LISTEN!* Toothless roared suddenly – literally. The humans and dragons alike jumped out of their skins. All eyes fixed on Toothless, who puffed his chest out smugly, and looked at Stoick as if to say – *Well, go on then*.

"Err…" Stoick cleared his throat, "Thank you, Toothless. Now, dragons, all of you need to spread the word. Every dragon on this island leaves Berk at their own peril. A madman will be coming here, sooner than later, with a dragon army – and he _will_ try to capture all of you".

Before he could continue, the dragons (except for Toothless and Stormfly) squawked or snarled nervouslyand angrily _,_ Hookfang flaming up and declaring * _No one_ is capturing _me_!*

*Is that true?* Meatlug fretted, trembling and nuzzling against Fishleg's bulk as he tried to comfort her.

*We don't want to-

*Be in an army!* B&B protested, ignoring their riders attempts to quiet them.

Hiccup whistled loudly. "Guys, calm down!"

His friends stared at him. "Err…we were calm. It's the dragons who freaked out" Tuffnut pointed out, in one of the few times he stated the obvious instead of asking it.

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup explained "I know; that's who I was talking to. Yes, it's true, Meatlug, but don't panic. Nobody is getting captured and put into a dragon army. Just let my dad finish, okay? Sorry about that" he said to his father, clearing his throat and stepping back, gesturing for Stoick to continue.

"…Right. I don't know when Drago is going to get here, but it's only a matter of time. You need to tell all the dragons, if they see any signs of ships that aren't our allies or Berkian, to fly back here and warn Hiccup immediately. Do _not_ try to attack them _or_ fight their dragons. Do you all understand?"

One by one, the dragons ducked their heads (and in Meatlug's case, her shoulders) in short, but clear nods. Nodding wasn't part of their usual body language – they jerked their heads as a silent 'we're friends' greeting, and shaking their heads didn't mean 'no', it meant 'I'm feeling playful'. However, once the true extent of their sapience came to light, Hiccup persuaded the dragons to respond to basic questions with nods and shakes of the head for 'yes' and 'no'; partly to take some of the pressure off himself, being the sole dragon-to-human translator.

*What if we can't find you?* Hookfang asked Hiccup, who replied "Good question. Dad, what if the dragons can't find me and Toothless? Not all of them can track me the way Stormfly and Skullcrusher could".

"You're our resident dragon expert. What do you suggest?"

Hiccup rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and then snapped his fingers. "Alarm calls. Tell the other dragons, if they see enemy ships, to fly straight back to Berk and raise the alarm. The dragons all roaring and hovering above the village at once ought to be a pretty good giveaway that something's up" he decided. The instruction given, Hookfang decided *I'll go and spread the word*. He took wing, conveniently 'forgetting' about his rider, who stared up at the Nightmare's retreating form in dismay.

"Hookfang! Hey! Come back!"

"Hold it!" Stoick ordered, stopping Snotlout in his tracks, "None of you are to breathe a word of this to anyone in the village. There's no sense in causing a panic too soon. Is that clear?" he asked sternly, giving the twins a particularly hard stare. Tuffnut leaned over and, in a stage whisper that fooled absolutely no-one, asked his sister, "Why does he _always_ look at us like that when he wants something kept secret?"

Everyone else just stared flatly at him, Ruffnut included. Hiccup's eyebrows could have been used as a level. He resisted the urge to comment and swung himself into Toothless' saddle, but before they could set off, his father added "Wait, not you two. I want you to gather the council. Gobber and I will be waiting here; and you're sitting in on it too".

"Wait, everyone? Even Spitelout?"

"Yes, even him. Now go on, off with ya" Stoick instructed, shooing them away. With a powerful leap and downbeat of his large wings, Toothless was up in the air. They flitted about the island, finding and directing all the members of the Berk Council to the Great Hall for an emergency meeting. It wasn't long before everyone was accounted for, their dragons waiting patiently outside; with the exception of Toothless, whom they all knew would refuse to leave Hiccup's side.

Naturally, everyone wanted to know what the emergency was. "I was right in the middle of a very intense workout" Spitelout complained, flexing his considerable muscles for emphasis. Everyone else on the table rolled their eyes, even Toothless, who was sitting nearby.

"This is far more important than a workout session. We've called you all here for a war council" Stoick announced, much to the other men's surprise. He swiftly outlined the threat and the steps they had already taken to counteract it. When he'd finished, the rest of the council shared nervous glances and muttered to each other.

Sven was the first to speak. "That is a mighty big problem, aye. Another dragon war? It's only been five years since th' last one!" he grimaced. The thought of Berk having to face raiding, attacking dragons all over again was unpleasant, and the fact that these dragons would be under the control of a dangerous man like Drago Bludvist was even more disturbing.

Spitelout thumped his fist on the table and then pointed an accusing finger at Hiccup, loudly demanding "See, boy? This is what happens when you go flying off, looking for trouble! If you hadn't been out there, putting your nose where it doesn't belong, then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Stoick began to protest, as did Hiccup and Gobber; but Toothless topped all of them, planting his forepaws on the table and growling angrily at the man. *Don't you dare blame my brother for this!*

"Easy, Toothless" said Hiccup, placing a hand on his dragon's chest and pushing him back. Of course, normally Hiccup would have no hope of actually moving him, but Toothless got the hint and backed down. "You're right though" Hiccup added to him in a mutter, before telling Spitelout, "You can't blame me for this. It's not like I knew those trappers would be there. It sounds to me like Drago would have found Berk eventually, and we'd have no warning at all".

"You ought to watch your tongue, Spitelout" Gobber said warningly, "That is no way to talk to your future chief". Both he, Stoick and Toothless were all backing Hiccup up with matching, disapproving glares. Spitelout huffed, muttered a polite if terse apology, and sat back in his seat.

Bucket scratched his cheek and asked "If those trappers didn't find out where you were from, how're they going to tell Drago where to find us?"

"They saw Hiccup and Astrid riding dragons" replied Stoick, "and most everyone in the archipelago knows about our peace with th' dragons. We could hardly keep it a secret. Drago is going to put two and two together, but like Hiccup says, when he does, we'll be ready for him" he finished with an air of determination. The other men agreed with hearty cheers.

The council began to discuss and form a plan of defence. Some of the dragon stables would serve as defensible shelters for the women and children; the anti-dragon artillery would be rebuilt; supplies would be have to be stocked up and food rationed, because Drago's fleet would put Berk under siege. Then Spitelout made the suggestion they had all considered, but not wanted to voice. "Listen to us all. We're sitting here, discussing what to do when dragons start attacking us all over again. This time, we've got our own huge, fire breathing reptiles! I want to know what all of them are going to do, besides roaring their scaly heads off".

Toothless glowered with narrowed eyes at Snotlout's father; Hiccup frowned slightly and replied "Our dragons will fight Drago's if they have to; this is their home too, their territory, and they'll defend it. We need to help defend them too. It's the least we can do, after everything they've done for us".

"Why stop at them fighting? Why don't we use what they can give us?" suggested Sven, "Spines for ballistics, flammable saliva, Zippleback gas, Gronckle iron", he listed them off on his fingers. He looked at Hiccup and questioned eagerly, "They could do that, couldn't they? Supply us with extra ammunition, I mean".

Hiccup fidgeted awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, I - I guess".

Stoick raised an eyebrow and asked, "But?"

"Uh, what? There's no but, who said anything about a 'but'?"

* _You're_ a butt* Toothless teased; Hiccup tried to glare in annoyance at him and stifle a snigger at the same time.

"Y'know, lad, if you're gonna be chief one day, you really need ta learn ta be less transparent" Gobber informed his former apprentice bluntly.

"Duly noted" the young man deadpanned.

"What's on your mind, son?"

He sighed. "It's just...Sven makes a good point, but using the dragons as...as living ammunition stores, it just feels like something a hunter would do".

"It's not the same thing, and you know it. Hunters don't ask the dragons they capture for permission; you can. I'm putting you in charge of convincing the dragons to contribute to all of this. It'll help keep you out of trouble".

Suddenly, something else occurred to Hiccup, and he hesitantly remarked, "Oh, yeah, of course - it's just, err, I just thought of something else I could do. To help, I mean, with stopping Drago".

"Which is?"

"The trappers said they'd just lost all their dragons to some 'thieving, do-gooder dragon rider', or that was the gist at least. This means there's someone out there who cares about dragons as much as we do, so they'll be against Drago. They could become an ally for us. There might be a whole other group of dragon riders to help us defend Berk!"

"And where do you come into all this?"

"I could ride back out there, find this dragon thief and ask them to help us defeat"-

"No" Stoick interrupted, his expression close to thunderous, "Absolutely not".

"What? Why not?" Hiccup protested immediately, "Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll take Astrid with me. Stormfly can help us track the thief down".

"You are not going to go flying off to distant lands looking for some new, possibly hostile dragon rider, with or without Astrid".

"They'd be a lot easier to convince than Drago! I get it, this guy's crazy, it's not like I'm planning to try and persuade him to set all his dragons free and play nice; but if we're going to take this guy on, we're going to need all the help that we can get" Hiccup argued.

"We already have allies" Spitelout interrupted, "We don't need to find some mysterious dragon thief. You need to be here, doing proper work, not being irresponsible!"

"I want to gain us an ally, who probably has information about Drago and his fleet since they rescue dragons from his trappers. How is that irresponsible?"

"I'm with Hiccup on this one, actually" Mulch admitted, "You can never have too many people on your side in a war, after all".

"Aye, that's right" Bucket added, "If this Drago fellow is as bad as you say, Stoick, then it'd be better to have as much help as possible".

"Thanks, you two" Hiccup smiled gratefully. Toothless purred at them, pleased that they were taking his rider seriously.

Mulch and Bucket were in favour of Hiccup's plan to find and recruit a new ally; Spitelout and Sven were against. He couldn't vote for himself, so that only left Gobber to be the deciding vote, to at least bring it to a tie. Hiccup gave him a pleading look, and the old black-smith looked uneasily at him, glanced at Stoick, and back at him again. "Now, it's not that I don't think it's a good plan...but now might not be the best time to be flying off in search o' new dragon riders, lad. You'll be more useful here, what with your - ahem - new ability, not to mention safer" Gobber explained, somewhat apologetically.

He knew that Gobber was only thinking of his best interests, but Hiccup still felt betrayed. Stoick nodded in satisfaction, and insisted, "So it's settled then. I know you're disappointed, son, but it's Berk you need to worry about right now. A chief protects his own" he insisted, repeating one of the lessons he'd been drilling into Hiccup ever since his son had agreed to start training to become his successor one day.

"But that's what I'm trying to do!" Hiccup protested, "This is about Myrkr, isn't it? Dad, that was two months ago. I've said I'm sorry a million times, and I was going to take Astrid with me...you weren't this concerned when I found the Dragon Eye and went to explore in the north, and I nearly died plenty of times then too" he pointed out, before suddenly realising what he'd just said.

"Err, that - that came out wrong" he corrected himself hastily, continuing before his father could speak, "Look, I can do this. It's what I'm good at. This new rider might know something about Drago that we don't, they might know a way to stop him from attacking us at all! Preparing for war is one thing, but wouldn't it better if, oh I don't know, there wasn't a war at all?" he asked, voice layered with sarcasm.

"I don't care for that tone, Hiccup!" Stoick glared at him angrily, but Hiccup just glared right back. The rest of the councilmen glanced at one another, and Bucket nervously leaned away from the young man. Hiccup barely noticed their reactions as he and his father stared one another down.

"I'll stay with Astrid. I'll come back if I don't find anything. We need all the help we can get and this could tip the balance in our favour. I can _do_ this!"

"ENOUGH!" Stoick thundered, slamming his fist onto the table enough to make it shake, and Hiccup flinched; granted, so did everyone else. "Put this foolish quest out of your mind right now, and do as you are told! You are _not_ going off in search of some mysterious dragon thief, and that is _final_!" he shouted.

Hiccup glared angrily at him, and suddenly stood up, his chair falling back and hitting the stone floor with a loud _bang,_ causing Toothless to jump to his feet. "I'll be at the cove" he announced through gritted teeth. The frustrated young man stormed away from the table; Toothless shot Stoick a withering glare and remarked *Way to go*. Stoick somehow got the message without the ability to hear thought-speak. Then the dragon rushed off after his rider, and the doors of the Great Hall slammed loudly to announce their departure.

Stoick put his head in his hands and groaned aloud. _Dear Gods, that boy is going to be the death of me._ "The council is over. All of you, go back home" he ordered. Nobody dared argue.

* * *

Once they were outside, Hiccup vaulted onto Toothless' back and engaged the tail-fin. In moments they were high above Berk, at the top of the mountain peak and hovering there. Hiccup threw his head back and uttered a loud, drawn out, incensed scream, clawing at the air itself as if trying to rip apart reality, and remould it more to his liking. A yellow orange Fire-scale drakaina crawled halfway out of her nest and twisted her head on her thin neck to look up at the pair. *Toothless? What's wrong with your human?*

*He's frustrated* Toothless called back to her, before glancing back at his rider and asking, *Feeling better?*

Hiccup groaned. "A bit…" he muttered, looking down at the female Nightmare, "Sorry, Lekaame" he said apologetically. He didn't really know her that well, only that her daughter, Bestrin, was Fanghook's mate.

*It's okay, but could you roar at nothing somewhere else, please? I'm trying to sleep* she replied, preening a bit. In her own way, Lekaame was just as vain as a Nadder, and always preening or napping. To be fair, she was a beautiful drakaina; she might have been Hookfang's mate, were it not for the fact that she couldn't stand his rider. That, Hiccup could understand.

"Yeah, sure" he nodded, "C'mon, Toothless. Let's go to the cove" he said. They flew down and landed beside the lake, from which Toothless drank whilst Hiccup paced back and forth, rambling crossly. "I just don't see what his problem is! Okay, no, I do see what his problem is - but I said I'd go with Astrid! I'd have her _and_ you to keep an eye on me. I'd rather be doing something _useful_ and having an adventure into the bargain, than help prepare for a war and then sit twiddling my thumbs waiting for our enemy to show up. I can take care of myself, I – I'm not just some kid anymore!"

Toothless, who had been watching and listening to this mini tirade in silence, remarked *You probably shouldn't have stomped out of the hall in a temper, then*.

Hiccup rounded on him and snapped, "Who's side are you on?!" Then he resumed his attempts to wear a groove into the dirt and his irritable mutterings. "It's not fair. I'm sorry about Myrkr, I learned my lesson – but he can't just keep me in a bubble for the rest of my life!"

*You mean the rest of his life*.

"Not helping. At least Bucket and Mulch agreed with me; I can't believe Gobber, though. I know he meant well, but still! Dad would've listened to him. Then there's Spitelout – I know _exactly_ what his problem is. 'We already have allies' – yeah, no kidding. Yet when I suggest getting us even one more, he's the first to shoot it down. Arrogant jerk; at least Snotlout is standing up to him nowadays. Hard to believe _he_ matured before his dad".

*Who cares about him?* Toothless asked with a dismissive snort, *Wait a few years and he'll be gone*.

"You mean a few decades" Hiccup corrected without looking at him, "One, that's not funny, and two, I don't have the luxury of waiting that long".

*You don't even know when this mad human is going to come here – or if he's going to come here*.

"Dad wouldn't have started all this if he didn't think there was anything to worry about. Drago could have been coming to Berk soon anyway, for all we know. I think he's right about one thing, at least. We ought to prepare sooner rather than later. Which is why the sooner I can get him to change his mind, the better…maybe I could ask Astrid to talk some sense into him?"

Toothless grew tired of watching his brother pace and mutter to himself. He got to his feet and quietly padded closer; Hiccup was so engrossed in thinking of ways to convince his father to change his mind that he didn't notice. Or rather, he didn't notice until Toothless' tail swished out, and tripped him up. "Augh!" he yelled as he went down, hands flying out to break his fall against the grass.

Before he could get back to his feet Toothless slumped down on top of him, with his left foreleg tucked under Hiccup's arms and his right foreleg over Hiccup's backside. Naturally, his human's first reaction was to struggle (futilely) and protest being pinned down like an errant hatchling. "Toothless!" he groused, squirming and trying to shove the dragon's head off his back, to no avail, "You get off me right now!"

*Not until you've calmed down*.

"I am calm!" Hiccup snapped in a decidedly not-calm voice, "Seriously, get off. I can't breathe".

Toothless rolled his eyes at that. He was supporting almost all of his own weight, with Hiccup tucked into the space between his jaw and chest. *You can breathe just fine. I'm not _that_ heavy*.

"You weigh over seventeen hundred pounds, and most of that is your fat head" Hiccup shot back. He liked it when they were alone; he could banter and playfully bicker with his other half all he wanted without getting strange looks from people who still weren't quite used to the fact that he could understand dragons. Well, more so than usual.

*That's it, I'm coughing up my breakfast onto you* Toothless threatened. He actually started to gag some of it up, before Hiccup panicked, exclaiming "Okay, okay! I take it back! Just the fat head thing, I mean, not the part about you being heavy". He sighed; there was no way he could get Toothless to budge, so he resigned himself to his fate.

Considering that said fate involved being used as a pillow and teddy bear by one of his favourite people in the world, he couldn't bring himself to mind that much. Toothless started purring; he could feel the vibrations running from his dragon's throat and jaw into his back, easing the slight ache and relaxing him. After a while, Toothless squinted at Hiccup out of the corner of his eye and asked again, *Feel better?*

"Mmm…yeah" Hiccup answered drowsily, peering past his own arm to look at Toothless. "Thanks" he smiled gratefully. Toothless purred again and replied, *You're welcome. It's what I'm here for*.

He felt calmer now, but no less concerned. "I wish we didn't have to do this" he murmured, resting his head on his arms and Toothless' foreleg, "Fight another war against dragons. It was bad enough the first time".

*You have a whole pack of dragons on your side now. This Drago Bludvist won't see it coming*.

"I don't really like the thought of the dragons fighting" Hiccup admitted, "I know dragons fight over territory and mates and food all the time – it's just in your nature – and I know we'd be fighting to defend our home…I know all that up here", he tapped his temple, "But…deep down…"

*You don't like the idea of anyone getting hurt* Toothless finished for him. With some exceptions for the elders, dragons weren't usually inclined towards 'intellectual' thoughts…but they understood emotions very well, and Toothless could read Hiccup like an open book.

"Yeah…I know it's stupid. If we're fighting, of course people are going to get hurt. It would be better if we didn't have to fight at all…maybe if we just talked to Drago, made him see that you guys aren't just monsters or weapons, then"-

*No* Toothless cut him off with a warning growl, *Stop thinking that. Bad Hiccup, bad* he scolded.

"It was just a suggestion. I don't like violence, you know that. I'd rather solve this as peacefully as possible…that's what I'm good at".

*You're good at getting in over your head* Toothless retorted, *If your father didn't want you to go in search of this new rider, there's no way he'll let you try to talk to Drago. I won't either. You know I'd follow you anywhere, into any danger…but I'm not going to _take_ you into danger anymore*.

"I know…but, if I can get my dad to change his mind, would you help me and Astrid find this dragon thief?"

*I suppose so…* Toothless replied with a yawn, feigning indifference. Hiccup chuckled and squirmed again, saying "Come on, let me up".

Toothless released him at last; Hiccup scrambled to his feet and brushed himself down. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. What d'you say we go get some lunch and play the 'avoid my dad till he stops being angry' game? We could go find Astrid and Stormfly" he suggested.

The mention of lunch sold Toothless on that part of the idea straightaway. *Food? Yes, please! Let's go!* he warbled eagerly, nudging at Hiccup until the young man, chuckling, was settled in the saddle and they took off.


	4. Getting Permission

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD 1 or 2

A/N: So…the playlist. I'm not going to be able to think of songs to match the major scenes…I'm too picky :/ On the other hand, there are songs I have in mind for _some_ of the scenes, so I've decided on what I hope is a good compromise. If I have a song or songs in mind for the chapter, I will put it in the author's note. Just for reference, the songs to go with chapter one are 'Where No One Goes' cover by Peter Hollens, 'Trail we Blaze' by Elton John and 'I won't give up' by Jason Mraz. If I don't have a song in mind, there won't be any suggestions.

Chapter Three – Getting Permission

Toothless-Hiccup could not avoid their father forever, and Hiccup received a long, often loud lecture regarding his lack of maturity and behaviour unbefitting of a future chief. He took it all in stride and apologised, promising not to storm out of anymore council meetings. He didn't plan to attend any more council meetings in the immediate future anyway.

A couple of days after the incident in the Great Hall, long after Stoick had gone to bed for the night, Hiccup left a note on his pillow and they flew to the Training Ring. He had discovered during their time in Myrkr that dragons, as a side effect of their extended lifespans and possibly their latent magic, did not need as much sleep as humans. They could in fact go for days and nights without sleep and still have the energy to cross vast swathes of ocean. The same went for food, for whilst dragons had voracious appetites, when times were tough they could last without starving far longer than a human could.

It turned out that their dragons often sneaked out whilst he and his friends were fast asleep to talk without having humans talking over them unknowingly, and scout for threats. Toothless was a bit of an exception. Since he couldn't fly on his own, he couldn't join in with the other dragons usual antics. Instead, he usually went to the cove to mark it as his territory out of habit, and to make sure it stayed relatively private. It was his and Hiccup's place, as far as he was concerned.

The others were already there when they arrived. *It's about time you showed up* Hookfang grumbled impatiently, twisting and arching his serpentine neck to get some of the kinks out.

*Did we keep you waiting?* Toothless asked innocently, before his expression morphed to one of utter disdain. *I don't care* he snorted dismissively. Hookfang bristled, glaring down at the night fury and parting his jaws, the better to show off his dagger-like fangs. He hissed _irritation_ and retorted, *Don't talk to me like that. I'm bigger than you, _and_ I can fly!*

Toothless rolled his eyes. *My brother and I could outfly you in our _sleep._ Size isn't everything, you overgrown changewing* he shot back, baring his fangs challengingly and spreading his wings. Hookfang spread his own in response, and the two drakes growled at one another…

" _Ahem_ ". They both looked over at Hiccup, who had his arms folded and was fixing them with the most disapproving stare he could muster. It was surprisingly effective, as both dragons dropped their wings and whined _guilt_ slightly, looking sheepish. "If you two are done…thanks for coming out here, guys. How did things go?"

*We warned as many dragons as we could about this hunter, Drago* Stormfly replied with a friendly chirrup, *and we asked them to tell any dragon that came nearby*.

"That's great!" Hiccup smiled happily, petting the nadder's large muzzle, "I wish I'd thought to bring you some chicken*.

Stormfly crooned appreciatively and replied *Don't worry. Astrid gave me some chicken for dinner…want to race?* she suggested, tipping her head to see Hiccup more clearly and looking a bit mischievous. He chuckled and gave her one last pet, saying "Maybe later. Listen, there….there is one other thing you can do to help". He tried to quell the slight feeling of nervousness…he just hoped they wouldn't get offended at his, or rather Sven's suggestion.

*More work? No thanks* Hookfang snorted a plume of smoke and curled up as if going to sleep. Stormfly stomped over and screeched at him, annoyed.

*Don't be so lazy!*

*Yes, and listen to Hiccup* Meatlug insisted, *After all, he's one of us now*.

The dragons all looked at Hiccup expectantly, Hookfang feigning reluctance…he was interested in spite of himself. Hiccup took a deep breath and explained, "During the meeting we had to discuss what to do about Drago, someone mentioned…well, they had the idea to…uh…get you guys…I mean, not _just_ you, all the dragons here on Berk, in our pack…more involved with the um, the fight against Drago. Err, but if you don't want to, you don't have to" he added hurriedly.

There was a long pause, and then Barf whistled _confusion_ and asked *We don't have to what?*

*What, fight?* Hookfang asked with a dismissive snort, *Of course we're going to fight! No dumb human or his war dragons are going to get the best of _me_ * he said haughtily.

"Um, yeah, that's another thing. Maybe you guys…shouldn't fight these other dragons. I mean, they've been…as much as I hate to say it, they've been trained for this, for war, and we…we've never done anything like this. Maybe we should warn everyone to just stay in the stables where it's safer…"

*He said to _dragons_ * Toothless remarked with an amused purr, *you can't stop us defending our territory. It's in our instincts*.

*We might live with humans, but we still know how to fight dragons* Stormfly told him with a reassuring croon, though he didn't feel particularly comforted, *and we want to help fight this horrid man. We're a pack, more or less, and packs*-

"Stick together" Hiccup finished for her, smiling, "I know".

*Was that what you wanted us to do?* asked Meatlug.

"Oh, uh…well…"

*The humans want to use our natural defences for their own weapons, but Hiccup thinks that would mean using us the way a hunter would, so he's too embarrassed to ask* Toothless explained bluntly. He looked back at his rider, who looked even more embarrassed and rather annoyed, and blinked affectionately at him. *That _is_ what is going on* he pointed out innocently.

"Oi…" Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Yeah…but like I said, if you guys and the other dragons don't _want_ to...I mean, it'd be useful…I just don't want you to feel like you're _being_ used..." he trailed off, realising they were all staring at him, and fidgeted, not sure what to do with his hands.

Stormfly chirruped _amusement_ and remarked, *Astrid is right. That thing you do with your shoulders _is_ funny*. She and the other dragons chuckled, which to a human unfamiliar with dragons would sound like a discordant jumble of rumbles and rasping clicks and chittering. Face red, Hiccup shot a half-hearted glare at Toothless, whose jaw was agape in laughter.

*Traitor* he thought sulkily…Toothless caught his breath and looked at him oddly. *How am I a traitor?* he asked.

"You're not supposed to laugh at…wait. How'd you know I called you a traitor?" Hiccup asked in bewilderment, "I didn't say it out…oh. I used thought-speak, didn't I?"

*Yes, you did…isn't that a good thing?* Toothless crooned _confusion_ and tilted his head when Hiccup just groaned, burying his head in his hands.

"I didn't mean to use it…I thought it was supposed to be controlled by intent? I didn't meanfor you to hear that... _ugh,_ I wish I could just control it already" he complained, scowling.

*Well, you must have meant for him to hear it* Hookfang pointed out with a mocking eye-roll, *because we all heard it*.

*We didn't. We were-

-Too busy laughing* B&B remarked, not so helpfully, before Belch asked *What did he say?*

*He said*-

" _Nothing_ " Hiccup quickly cut Hookfang off, "It's nothing, I didn't mean it. Can we please change the subject?" he pleaded, wanting to get the focus off of himself.

*We still don't know-

-What you're asking* B&B informed him. Like all multi-headed dragons, when they were on the same page they often talked in tandem. When they weren't…well, the arguments were amusing at least.

*We were going to use our flames and spikes to fight these hunters and other dragons anyway* Stormfly pointed out.

*I could help make more of that shiny metal you humans like so much* Meatlug offered shyly, her stomach rumbling more out of nerves than hunger. Hookfang wrinkled his snout and moved away from her, but Hiccup just gave her a reassuring smile, backed up by Toothless' croon.

"Thanks, that would help a lot…try and get as many rock-tails as you can to help make as much gronckle iron as possible" he instructed, deciding to just forego the hesitation and jump right in. "We'll find a way to get enough rocks…and we'll need plenty of fire-scale saliva and twin-head gas for the Twin's…surprises. Hey, B&B, do the twins have any of them left?"

*We think so, but-

-We don't mind making more* they answered, sounding as eager as a Zippleback could. They started pestering Hookfang to help…the stubborn nightmare hissed and snapped irritably at them, B&B retaliated, and a minor scuffle broke out atop serpentine necks. The others quickly backed away from the bickering dragons, knowing what was coming. "Five, four, three, two…one" Hiccup counted down, shielding his eyes and ears from the loud, fiery _bang_ that resulted when Barf breathed gas right in Hookfang's face, just as Hookfang set himself alight to look more intimidating. They did this every time.

"Where was I? Oh, right. We're going to need plenty of gronckle iron, lots of those little fire-shells…hmm…Stormfly, would you and the other Spike-Tails mind us using your spines for our own weapons?" he asked the Nadder.

*I don't mind…do you want me to ask the others?* she inquired, half offering and half checking. He nodded. One by one, all the dragons agreed to ask their own kinds to contribute even just a little to the battle preparations. The younger dragons ('younger' being a relative term, of course) would most likely be eager to help; they were often just as fond of entertaining mayhem as the twins, with predictable – and alarming – results.

"Thank you" Hiccup told them when everything was settled, "Really, thanks for everything. This will all help so much…I mean, it'd be nice if we didn't have to fight this guy at all, but I don't think we can avoid it. Heh, but with dragons and humans working together, Drago isn't going to know what hit him".

* * *

Days passed. Fortifications were made, supplies were stock-piled, and allies were reached out to, warned about the threat of Drago. Many of the tribes dismissed it – they had no proof that any so called 'dragon army' was on its way to the archipelago. Others took the threat seriously, but refused to help Berk make a stand, choosing instead to retreat and fend for themselves.

The Outcasts, under the command of Alvin, and the Berserkers, under the command of Dagur, promised to come to Berk's aid if word arrived that the army had arrived, that the battle was underway. How things had changed, with enemies turned allies!

Hiccup didn't disobey his father and go off in search of the dragon thief. He helped out in the forge, mediated between Vikings and dragons (or dragons and dragons), and generally just did as he was told. Stoick started to get suspicious. Every so often, Hiccup asked again to be allowed to go on this quest he'd set his sights on. Every day Stoick told him that they didn't need to find any mysterious new dragon riders, and that his place was there helping to fortify Berk and prepare for the siege.

What unsettled the chief the most was that…his son didn't argue. Oh, he kept asking, but whenever Stoick refused, Hiccup would just look extremely disappointed, and leave without another word. Stoick began to have doubts about his decision. _This is what's best for him_ he told himself firmly, whenever he saw that flicker of hope fade and die in his son's eyes. _I'm doing this to protect him, to keep him safe. It_ is _what's best for him!_

* * *

They were both so busy helping prepare for Drago's arrival, that Hiccup and Astrid didn't get a chance to spend much time together. Astrid was drilling the auxiliary 'A' Team on manoeuvres that could save their lives if they entered the fray against Drago. The team itself had changed a little. It was still being led, and surprisingly well, by Gustav Larson. The now 18 year old had matured considerably, although he still had a bit of a tendency to hero-worship the older riders, but in a more respectful way.

Gothi was too elderly to be part of the team, so she had been replaced with a young woman named Agnes, who also happened to be Gothi's apprentice, learning the trade of being the village healer. She was as rough and ready as any Viking, a total tomboy…but she did have a softer side, especially for Amethyst, the gronckle that Gothi temporarily rode and was then adopted by Agnes.

She found Hiccup and Toothless on the edge of the cliff overlooking the village, watching the sunset. Hiccup was lying on his stomach in the grass, with Toothless' wing folded over his back like an arm around a comrade's shoulders. The dragon looked round briefly when Stormfly dropped to the ground behind them, but Astrid gestured for him to stay where he was. She walked over and sat down on Hiccup's right, dangling her feet off the edge of the cliff fearlessly. The cliff was steady, she wouldn't fall, and if she did then they would catch her.

"Hey...it's a nice view, isn't it?" she said a bit awkwardly, gesturing at the fiery orange semi-sphere of the sun as it sank below the ocean, at the sky tinged red and purple fading into black with the first pinpricks of stars shining through. It reminded her of dragon fire, and she suddenly remembered that soon, Berk might once more be under attack from dragons. After five years of peace, the best years of her life if she was honest, it hardly seemed feasible.

Like many of the villagers, Astrid had wondered at first if their chief was overreacting. The trappers they'd encountered had no idea where they had come from, and didn't even know their names…who was to say that Drago Bludvist was coming at all? When the news of Drago's imminent arrival had been revealed, and the villagers had questioned the need to prepare, it had been Hiccup himself, surprisingly, who had defended his father's decision.

He pointed out that the trappers knew they had come from north-west of the ruined fort. The only inhabited island on that route apart from Berk was Outcast Island, and they didn't ride dragons as much there. More importantly, he and Toothless were unique in the archipelago, and rumours about them had spread even as far as Myrkr. The trappers were bound to mention them to Drago, if only to get revenge for them supposedly helping rescue the dragons Eret and his men had needlessly captured. Someone, somewhere, would know where the 'Dragon Master' lived - although Hiccup really didn't like calling himself that.

Ever since he gained the ability to understand dragons on their own level, he felt uncomfortable with the idea of being the 'dragon master' or even a dragon trainer. The way he saw it now, he didn't _train_ dragons, he befriended them and persuaded them to help. He'd honestly be happy not having a title of any kind, but the others insisted that he _needed_ a cool nickname, to impress his future fellow chieftains and strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. Toothless thought that was stupid – _he_ could strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, thank you very much, ironic name notwithstanding.

"Yeah, it's beautiful" Hiccup agreed, bringing Astrid back to reality. She smiled wistfully at him and remarked, "It's a shame…we might not get to enjoy views like this soon".

"Well, we'd best enjoy them whilst we can…but I think we have plenty of time. Drago will be on a ship, and ships are slower than dragons".

*Much slower* Toothless remarked smugly, preening a bit, at the same time as Astrid wondered, "But what if he and his army have dragon flyers?"

One of the drawbacks Hiccup had been anticipating, with regards to his newfound ability, was having dragons and humans talk at the same time and not being able to hear them clearly. He soon discovered that even when they did, he heard human speech like any other person, but the dragon's thought-speak…it was difficult to describe, it was as if he sort of heard it or saw it in his mind.

It turned out this was unique to him; most dragons would simply talk over humans, tuning them out and hearing their fellow dragons more than the 'two legged skin sacks', as Hookfang once called them, before Toothless had fired a small fireball in his face in retaliation. They'd both bickered a bit after that, but Hiccup stepped in when it started getting out of hand…claw, rather. However it was that he could follow both human and dragon speech, it was a neat and useful trick.

So he elbowed Toothless in the ribs for his smugness, and said to Astrid, "You mean like Krogan?"

"Exactly. Hiccup, you know if they have dragon flyers, then we might have to...defend ourselves against those dragons, even if it isn't their fault."

"Well, of course it's not their fault" Hiccup insisted. Then he sighed and continued, "Okay, _if_ they have dragon flyers, then we'll…we'll deal with it. We defeated the dragon flyers last time, without hurting the Singetails they'd enslaved, and we can do it again. Besides, it's been a week and a half since we ran into those trappers. If they were on dragons, you'd think they'd have got here by now".

"Which means they could arrive at any moment" Astrid pointed out.

Her fiancé shot her an annoyed stare, his eyebrows as level as a table. "Sure, shoot down everything I say, why don't you?" he grumbled sarcastically, "It's bad enough that my dad's been doing that".

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, right. I can't believe I nearly forgot. Okay, you know how those trappers said they'd lost all their dragons to a dragon rider?"

"Yeah, and an ice spitting dragon…what sort of dragon breathes ice?" she wondered, "What class would that be in?"

Hiccup shrugged and said, "Cold class? I really need to update those categories…no, no, that's not the point. The point is, I've asked around and whoever that dragon rider was, it isn't anyone we know. Whoever it is has experience rescuing dragons from traps, traps set by people who work for Drago. I think they could be a valuable ally…and besides, why wouldn't we want to meet a new dragon rider?"

"Okay…what does this have to do with your dad?"

He sighed and explained, "He won't let me go and find this new rider, and ask them to help us. Even when I said I'd stay with you, and not go looking for trouble, he still won't…" for a moment Hiccup looked sad, disappointed and frustrated all at once. He shrugged helplessly and dropped his chin into his right palm, shielding his eyes with his other hand and staring glumly out at the horizon. Toothless gave him a comforting nuzzle and he smiled, petting the dragon's snout.

"What makes you think I'd want to come along?" Astrid inquired in a mock offended tone. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at her, and she sniggered. "Just kidding, I'm always up for an adventure. Still...I'm sure your dad means well. You know how he is. And…well….the last time you left Berk on a quest like this…"

"I screwed up" he said glumly, "I know. You don't have to remind me".

"So you made a mistake – everyone does that. It's just…well, this time had…bigger consequences" Astrid said hesitantly. She wasn't usually this cautious when speaking to him, and she didn't like it. "I'll talk to your dad" she offered, "See if I can get him to change his mind…are you sure you want to do this?"

He nodded. "I'm sure. I just have this feeling, Astrid…like it's something important I need to do. Uh, we, rather" he corrected himself hastily. Astrid pecked him on the cheek and then got to her feet, dusting the grass stains off her legs. Just as she was walking back to Stormfly, who had been waiting patiently nearby, Hiccup sat up and asked her, "Hey, Astrid? You trust me, don't you?"

Raising an eyebrow at the odd question, she replied "Course I do. Why?"

"…No reason. I, uh, we're gonna go for a quick flight before it gets too dark, I'll see you later" he hedged, he and Toothless getting to their feet. Before Astrid could press him, he was on Toothless' shoulders and they were away, soaring over the village. She sighed and looked back at her dragon.

"I don't suppose you know what that was about, do you?"

Stormfly shook her head and crooned apologetically. Astrid patted her scaly cheek and she crouched a bit so her rider could climb into the saddle more easily. "Eh. He'll probably tell me eventually…c'mon, I'm beat. Let's go to bed".

* * *

A couple of days passed without incident. Midway through Sunday night, whilst Hiccup slept and Stoick snored, and Toothless dozed on his fire heated stone…he sprang to full wakefulness, pupils slitted and ear-fins pricked, at the sound of a thud on the roof. The same thud, right above him, made Hiccup jerk awake as well – in a manner of speaking. "Ebbeh…m' comin' Toothless…" he mumbled drowsily, lost in memories of his dragon bouncing on the roof in an obnoxious attempt to wake him up at the crack of dawn for flying.

*It's not me* Toothless replied, his eyes fixed on the opening that he used to come and go as he pleased from Hiccup's bedroom. He tensed, ready to defend his human from whatever was on the roof…if it turned out to be Hookfang or B&B playing a prank, he was going to make sure they _regretted it._

A jet black, scaly head with sapphire blue eyes appeared at the top of the opening, looking at him upside down. Toothless' wary stance relaxed immediately and he gave a gummy smile, mirrored by the familiar drakaina on the roof. Hiccup, now properly awake, grinned as well. "Selena!" he exclaimed, but keeping his voice low. He tried to get out of bed, remembered that he wasn't wearing his prosthetic, and fumbled to put it on, grumbling under his breath about "stupid leg…stupid Red Death..."

Selena awkwardly climbed into his room, jaws agape in a dragonish smile, gurgling happily as she jerked her head at Toothless, who returned the greeting. They both looked over expectantly at Hiccup, who blinked. Then he realised what they were getting at, and shook his head. "Oh no you don't…I don't mind acting like a dragon sometimes, but even I have my limits – eugh!" he exclaimed, grimacing as Toothless' tongue pasted his cheek and some of his hair with saliva. "What was that for?" he demanded, trying to wipe it off before it dried.

*I'm being playful! You were shaking your head, for dragons that means 'let's play'* Toothless told him, as if it were obvious. Hiccup shot him a deadpan ' _seriously?'_ look, and then smiled at Selena, reaching a hand out to her. She pressed her snout to his palm and purred as he scratched her under the chin.

"It's nice seeing you again…I didn't think I'd see you back so soon" he remarked, "Is everything alright?"

*Yes…well, sort of…no. It is, and it isn't, if you see what I mean*.

"Uh…no, not really" he admitted.

Selena sat down, curling her tail around herself, and explained *I came to tell you guys something. Well, two things. The first thing is…we had to move*. Her ear-fins drooped and she whimpered sadly, saying *Not long after Shadow and I went back home, those hunters came back. More of them…I didn't count them, but there were a lot of ships. Too many ships…mother decided we couldn't fight them or scare them away…so we left. We found another place to live further inland, up in the mountains where humans can't get to us*.

Both Hiccup and Toothless looked dismayed. "You had to leave your nest? Oh, Selena, I'm sorry" Hiccup said sympathetically.

*It's okay. Everyone got away, and that's what matters. I wanted to tell you so if you come to visit, you can find us. Just look for a mountain with two peaks, and the one on the left is shorter* she explained.

"Twin peaks, got it" Hiccup nodded, "So, uh, what else did you want to tell us?"

Selena made an inquisitive noise, and then remembered. *Silly me! Cybil asked me to give you a message. Well, a message and a warning, I suppose*.

*What?* Toothless looked alarmed, *Warning?*

*The warning is… **beware the scar-faced man** * Selena said ominously, before her pupils widened again. *Creepy, isn't it?*

"She probably means Drago…" Hiccup muttered. Selena tilted her head, looking confused. He and Toothless explained about Eret and his trappers, and how they worked for a madman named Drago Bludvist, who is supposedly building a dragon army.

*He sounds horrible! I wish I could help, but…mother doesn't know I came here* Selena admitted sheepishly, *I have to go back tomorrow or she'll be even madder*.

"Heh, don't worry. We've got everything under control…I think…so, um, what else did Cybil say?"

*The message is, **the lost one will return** * Selena told them. *I have no idea what that means though* she admitted. Hiccup and Toothless were equally stumped.

*I'm sorry I woke you up* Selena told Hiccup apologetically. He smiled and petted her, saying "No, don't worry about it. Hey, since I'm awake, you two wanna go for a flight?" he suggested, "There's no way I'll be able to get back to sleep now".

Both dragons were very eager at this prospect. Hiccup saddled Toothless up in record time and they snuck out of the house, flying out to soar over the island and race other dragons through the sea stacks. The dragons had a game called 'the hunting game', which was like a cross between hide and seek and tag. In a group of dragons, all but one would find somewhere to hide, and then sneak back to the starting point whilst the first dragon 'hunted' them; the winner was whoever evaded being caught the longest. It was a fun game, and it helped fledglings learn to track quarry and evade being tracked.

Hiccup was pretty tired when they returned to his room; Selena went to the cove to sleep, since there wasn't really room for her in the house. When Toothless and Hiccup went back inside, they were startled to find Stoick standing there, looking stressed and cross. "Where in Thor's name have you been?" he demanded, scowling at them both.

Toothless tried and failed to look innocent, but Hiccup frowned and replied, in too calm a voice, "We were out flying". He resisted the urge to add, 'obviously'.

"Flying? At this hour?" his father asked incredulously.

"I've been flying at night before – besides, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. Selena visited – you remember Selena, right? The female Night Fury we met, with the blue eyes".

"Aye, I remember...where is she now?"

"In the cove…dad, I'm sorry if I worried you, but I'm back now. Can you please just drop it?" Hiccup asked, his voice getting strained. He stopped looking at his father and started taking Toothless' saddle off again.

"I was worried! You didn't leave a note".

"I forgot!" Hiccup snapped, "But why does it matter? I shouldn't have to tell you every time I leave the house. What, did you think I'd gone off to find the dragon thief?"

Stoick didn't answer, but his expression was all the reply that Hiccup needed. "I thought so" he said, rather bitterly, "Well, you don't have to worry about that. I've learned my lesson. I'm not going to disobey you, chief" he said, cold and formal.

Oh, that hurt. Stoick stared at his son in dismay; something was obviously wrong. "I don't like that tone" he said warningly, before asking, "Now come on, out with it. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing's the matter" Hiccup scoffed, "Why would anything be the matter? You don't want me to go find this dragon thief, so I won't go and find the dragon thief. Are you happy now?"

"No! I want to know what your problem is, Hiccup, or so help me I'll"-

"My problem?! What's _your_ problem, dad?" Hiccup demanded, rounding on him suddenly. "Ever since Myrkr, I have done everything you asked and then some. I put up with all those boring council meetings and chieftain duties. I didn't complain when you set people to follow me – as if Toothless and I wouldn't notice – and I didn't leave Berk for more than a weekend at most…and I've been _trying,_ damn it, I've been trying so hard to make up for what I did!

"That's my problem. Why do you think I asked permission to go and find this dragon thief? Why do you think I haven't already left? I wanted to go, _with Astrid,_ and find them, and I'd promise to come back home and I would and…and then you'd _trust me again_ " he admitted, head hanging. Toothless nuzzled him, and he hugged the dragon and refused to meet his father's eyes.

After a few moments, Stoick walked forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Hiccup looked up at him. "I do trust you, son. I'm…so sorry. I never meant to make you feel that you had to prove I could trust you…I know I've been over-protective. It's just that… I've almost lost you so many times. Myrkr was one time too many" he explained sombrely, "And now that you're heart bound, I need to make sure you're both safe, for as long as I can…"

He sighed, and ran a hand over his face. "This dragon thief…you really think you can find them? All you know is that they're in the North, and that's a big place".

"I'm pretty confident" Hiccup replied, "I have a plan".

"Already?" said Stoick, raising an eyebrow, "You didn't know if I was going to say yes".

"Yeah, but 'a chief should always be prepared', right?"

"Aye, that's right…nice to see you're taking some of the 'boring' chieftain lessons to heart" Stoick remarked wryly. He swiftly became serious once more. "Hiccup…Odin knows I don't want anything to happen to you, or Toothless…but if this really matters so much to you, then…promise me you'll stay with Astrid the whole time, and that you won't go looking for Drago, and that you'll come home after…we'll say three days. Do you promise?"

Hiccup's eyes were alight with hope. "Yes, dad" he answered, nodding, "I promise".

*I promise as well* added Toothless. Hiccup passed the message on, and Stoick petted Toothless on top of his head. "Okay…then you can go on this quest of yours. But please…be careful".

"I will, dad, I promise…and dad? Thanks".


	5. The Search Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: Long chapter is long. The song for this chapter is 'On my Way' from Brother Bear, because who doesn't listen to that song before going on a trip? Just me…?

Also, if you haven't seen Disney's _Moana_ yet, go watch it, it's great XD.

Chapter Four: The Search Begins

Early the next morning, Hiccup and Toothless visited the cove; or to be more precise, visited Selena, who had spent the night there. She was happy to see them, of course, giving them both a good-morning nuzzle. Toothless tried to ignore how nice that felt...

*Are you okay?* he asked out of the blue. Feeling foolish, he quickly added *I mean, did you sleep okay...because...it's cold right now...* If dragons could blush, the scales of his cheeks would no longer be black, but crimson. Hiccup smirked in amusement, whilst Selena simply tilted her head in puzzlement and replied *I slept fine...thank you for asking* she purred.

"We just wanted to let you know that we're going on a...well, a quest of sorts" Hiccup explained, taking pity on his embarrassed dragon. _On second thoughts_...he smirked mischievously, before casually remarking "You could come with us, if you like. The more the merrier...course, it might be dangerous...good thing you'd have a big, strong drake to - ow!" he winced, as Toothless' tail fin slapped him in the face.

Toothless had taken to standing, almost exclusively, on Hiccup's left side. There was no real advantage to this...save that he could swing his tail around and have the right-hand, living fin swipe his rider instead of the prosthetic. He figured it would be less painful...Hiccup was of the opinion that it stung either way, and was annoying to boot. He briefly frowned at his dragon, before turning his attention back to the rather bewildered drakaina in front of them.

"Uh, yeah, like I was saying, we're going on a quest with Astrid and Stormfly. There's this new dragon rider somewhere in the north, and I wanna try and recruit them to help us stop Drago and this war he's trying to start" he explained. He couldn't resist adding, "You could come with us, if you want..."

*I'd love too* Selena purred happily, but it trailed off into a sort of awkward hum as she added *But I...I should be going home. I don't want anyone to worry…when were you going to leave?* she asked curiously.

"Well, we need to get a few supplies and wake up Astrid first – but really, as soon as possible. You can stay a little bit longer, right?"

Selena considered it. *I don't see why not* she said finally, spreading her wings. Hiccup jumped into the saddle and they took off, swooping around the island and back down to the village. Even as early as it was, several villagers were already awake; there were some chores that couldn't wait for midday to be done, after all. Seeing _two_ Night Furies instead of one threw them for a loop at first, until they remembered that Hiccup and Toothless had befriended a couple of the elusive dragons.

Toothless and Selena alighted outside Astrid's house, and Stormfly's open pen. The Nadder was still snoozing, curled up in a nest of hay that she'd 'borrowed' from Mulch's farm and torn out of its neat bale. It wasn't like the humans had been using it, and there were plenty more... Hiccup tiptoed past the slumbering dragon and up to the window of Astrid's bedroom. The shutters were closed…he rapped on them gently. "Astrid? Psst, Astrid!" he called, trying to rouse her and keep from startling Stormfly awake.

Needless to say, he was less than successful. Glancing back at Stormfly, and judging her to be deeply enough asleep that he could knock a little louder, he did so. "Hey, Astrid, it's me! I've got some great news". Still no reply…pursing his lips, Hiccup raised his hand to knock once more, just a little bit louder – he only made it to three knocks when the shutters were yanked open, and he abruptly came face to face with a visage out of a nightmare.

"Yikes!" he yelped, staggering backwards…and tripping over Stormfly's tail. The naturally skittish dragon jerked awake at the feeling of _something_ behind her and immediately heaved herself up, swiping her tail through the air and releasing a flurry of spines on reflex. Mercifully none of the spines hit Hiccup, who was still sprawled on the floor of the stable; however, one did slice through a rope by the side of a nearby house, dumping water onto it and startling a small flock of Terrible Terrors.

They flew away squawking indignantly, right into the path of a Gronckle who, bewildered, floundered in mid-air and crashed backwards into another house, which set the people inside shouting and disturbed the Zippleback in his nearby stable. The Twin-head chased off the Rock-scale with a lot of roaring and posturing, and several villagers emerged to find out what was causing all the chaos. Hiccup, for his part, had quickly scrambled back to his feet and hidden behind the post, face burning with embarrassment.

Selena thought the whole debacle was hilarious, and chuckled throatily. Toothless had hurried to Hiccup's side to check he was alright, and then rounded on the Nadder. *Could you _not_ throw spines at my rider?* he demanded of Stormfly, who ruffled her wings defensively and protested, *I didn't know it was him! I just felt something behind me, how else was I going to react?*

*Maybe by not freaking out and sending spikes everywhere?* Toothless retorted sarcastically, but his tense pose betrayed his real feelings. He'd been alarmed, worried for Hiccup, and was now cross with Stormfly. That was one of the side effects of heart binding – threats to either half, even minor ones, were met with wariness and hostility by the other. Or perhaps he had anger issues, he wasn't sure.

"That's enough, you two" Hiccup insisted firmly. He'd been practicing what he called the 'Chief Voice', also known as the 'Dad Voice', a tone of stern disapproval his father used on him regularly. It didn't always have the desired effect, especially when stubborn Vikings were involved; but in this case it made both dragons duck their heads submissively and stop staring each other out.

*Sorry, Hiccup*.

*I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to attack you*.

"It's alright, Stormfly. I'm sorry I startled you. I was startled mys – uh, ah heh, heh, heh…hi Astrid" Hiccup said with an awkward, lopsided smile. He'd glanced over at Astrid's window and found his fiancée glaring at him, arms folded. There were bags under her eyes and her hair was a matted, uncombed mess. "Uh…um…are you okay?"

Astrid's eyes narrowed. She crooked a finger and beckoned him closer. When he was near enough she reached out through the window and grabbed his arms, keeping him rooted to the spot. "Why are you sneaking up to my house and waking me up - So. Damn. Early?" she demanded, punctuating the last three words with a tighter and tighter grip on his biceps. Ignoring the fact that her breath kind of reeked - he was used to getting repeatedly licked by a dragon whose breath smelled of raw fish most of the time – Hiccup prised her grasp off and held her hands.

"I have some great news" he smiled eagerly, hoping to excite her, "My dad said yes! He said we can go find the dragon thief". He looked her over again and frowned slightly in concern. " _Are_ you okay? You look...really tired" he realised.

"I am" she said bluntly, tugging her hands free and folding her arms. "Hiccup, I was up till late last night working out battle tactics and strategies whilst _you_ " – she poked him in the chest, "were up there playing chase with dragons".

He blinked. "You saw us? Why didn't you join us?"

"Stormfly wasn't down here, was she? She was up there with you, having the time of her life" Astrid said moodily. Hiccup didn't take it personally…he knew Astrid could be kind of tetchy when she was tired.

*Is she upset with me?* Stormfly asked with a worried croon.

"Stormfly's asking if you're upset with her" Hiccup translated. Straightaway, Astrid's scowl cleared from her face and she hurriedly reassured her dragon, "Oh no, no, I'm not upset. I just…" she sighed, "Now's not a good time".

*We can tell* Toothless deadpanned; he'd walked over to the house with Hiccup. Resisting the urge to shoot his dragon a warning glare, Hiccup simply smiled at Astrid and said, "It's okay, we can wait for you to get ready, and then-"

"Wait!" Astrid held up a hand, "Hiccup, I…I can't go today. I have to do drills with the auxiliary team, and then I have patrol duty – I took an extra shift to cover the twins because gods knows those two won't do it, they'd just get distracted, and then after that I promised that Stormfly and I would help reinforce the eastward fortifications" she explained, trying to ignore the slight look of disappointment he had, before he blinked it away.

"Oh…okay. Couldn't, uh, couldn't the A Team do the drills by themselves?" he asked, "I mean, they should be practiced enough by now…"

"They've never done these manoeuvres before" Astrid informed him. "Hiccup, what's the big rush? It's not like we're in a hurry" she pointed out. Yes, Drago was on his way, but she felt that the preparations they'd made were enough to keep him and his dragons at bay…at least for a while. It was frustrating…Stoick had never actually seen Drago's war fleet and could tell them little to nothing about what to expect. All they could surmise was that it would be like facing hunter's vessels, albeit with dragons being sent from them – armoured dragons, which worried her - to attack.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I…I kind of wanted to leave before my dad had a chance to change his mind" he admitted.

Astrid looked less than impressed with this excuse. "If it took your dad this long to say 'yes', he's not going to change his mind right away, is he?" she reasoned. Hiccup still looked doubtful, but she wasn't having any of it. "We'll go tomorrow. At a _sensible_ hour of the morning…how are you even planning on finding this dragon rider, thief…person?" asked Astrid, "We have no idea where to start looking. Stormfly doesn't have a scent to track – and speaking of Stormfly, she hasn't been tracking things well lately, and she hasn't let me pet her on the snout since we got back from Crash Cliff Island".

"Well, most Nadders don't like being pet on their snouts. Blind spot and all…she still lets you pet her on her cheek and neck, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm her rider. She trusts me…or at least she should. Can you ask her what's wrong?"

*You know what's wrong* Toothless reminded him, *Just tell her*.

*Tell her what?* Selena asked curiously, padding closer to the window. She'd been hanging back, not wanting to interrupt, but she wanted to greet Hiccup's desired. Astrid looked rather surprised to see her, but quickly recovered and held out a hand for her to sniff at, re-familiarising herself with the young woman's scent.

"Uh…okay, truth is, that's sort of my fault – but it's for a good cause!" Hiccup promised when Astrid looked at him sharply, demanding answers. He cleared his throat and explained, "I actually do have a plan…of sorts…you know when that one trapper stood on Stormfly?"

"Yes…." *Smelly booted egg-for-brain*, both Astrid and Stormfly said together. Hiccup disguised a snort of laughter as a sneeze when he heard Stormfly's description, and explained, "When we got back, I took a cloth and rubbed the scent off her head and onto her snout. She's scented it enough now that she could pick it up from anywhere, which means we won't have to go all the way back to Crash Cliff Island for her to pick up the trail.

"We know the trappers are heading north, so if we travel north east we can cut them off, so to speak, and then once we've tracked them down we'll ask them where the dragon thief went. That's phase one of the plan. Phase two is following their directions, phase three is finding the thief, phase four is convincing them to come back and help us, and phase five is we kick Drago's – ow! What was that for?" he demanded of his dragon, who had just thwacked him in the back of the head.

*There are females present* Toothless replied loftily. Rolling his eyes, Hiccup turned back to Astrid, trying to gauge her reaction.

"You're telling me your plan revolves around tracking down _dragon trappers,_ on dragons, and _asking_ them for directions?" she summarised sceptically, "And I still don't see what this has to do with Stormfly not letting me pet her snout".

"Yeah, well, it's the only lead we've got. And she hasn't let you pet her snout because we can't have too many scents masking the one of that trapper. You can pet her there all you want after we've found him – she'll probably want you to. Besides, if they don't tell us where this new dragon rider went, we can always use that one _really effective persuasion method_ you have" Hiccup explained.

*You want her to kiss him?* Toothless asked, feigning obliviousness.

"What? No! I meant the _other_ persuasion method, you useless reptile" Hiccup muttered to him.

"What'd he say?" Astrid asked curiously, unable to help overhearing; honestly, she was _right there._

"Err, nothing"-

"Yes, he did. Spill" she insisted. Reluctantly, he told her, and she giggled. Then she sobered up again and asked, "What are we going to do if they say that this thief came from the exact opposite direction? From the south or something?"

"Well, like you said, it's not like we're in a hurry" he pointed out. "Besides, I have a feeling the thief will be in the north as well. They have an ice spitting dragon, and I figure an _ice_ spitting dragon is probably going to want to live where it's cold…cos, y'know, otherwise the ice would melt…" he trailed off.

Astrid still looked less than impressed. "That seems like pretty shaky ground…Hiccup, are you sure this is necessary?"

"I'm positive" he said seriously, "I have a really good feeling about this, Astrid". He didn't want to tell her the main reason he was doing this – to prove to his father that he could be trusted, because he knew what she'd say. _He does trust you, you don't have to prove yourself…_ he knew he didn't _have_ to, but he wanted to. He wanted to make up for his mistake, even if it did lead to good and useful…if complicated...consequences.

In an effort to change the subject and make up for waking her so early (Astrid was usually more of a morning person, but even morning people had their off days, he supposed), he blurted out "I'll do the recon. I'll cover your shift, I mean…the shift you were covering for Ruff and Tuff. I'll do that – and I'll help with the reinforcing too…give you some time off, y'know".

She blinked in surprise, and eyed him a bit suspiciously – she knew perfectly well he was just trying to change the subject. "I'd rather be busy…you can cover my recon shift, but we'll both work on the reinforcing. I'll pack tonight and we'll go implement your half-baked idea of a 'plan' tomorrow morning…and not at stupid o clock, just after dawn early, okay?"

He nodded, and leaned over the windowsill to hug her. "Thanks…and uh, I'd rather the others didn't find out about this. No offence to them but this is pretty high stakes…probably best if it's just the two of us" he reasoned. Astrid nodded in agreement, and then shooed him off so she could get ready.

Stormfly had a different scent in her nose, and the Night Furies were paying attention to Hiccup and Astrid, so neither the humans nor the dragons noticed that Snotlout, who was on his way to work at the forge (and walking, because Hookfang had bailed on him _again,_ damn it) had hidden at the side of the house when Selena moved to say hello to Astrid, and eavesdropped on almost the whole conversation.

* * *

Selena set off for home that night, and the next morning (early, but not too early), Hiccup and Astrid set out with their dragons on a north-easterly course, hoping to cut across the trapper's path and track them down, following the only lead they had to find this dragon thief. Not for the first time, a few doubts niggled in the back of Hiccup's mind…he wasn't as sure and certain of this as he appeared to be.

Still, he really did believe having another ally would be beneficial, and whilst he didn't know what Cybil's prophecy about 'the lost one being found' meant, but he had a feeling it was something to do with this quest. Why else would she have told Selena to bring it up?

They made camp the first night out on Firewyrm Island. The Firewyrms were one of the dragon kinds who were more territorial and exclusive, much like Changewings, Smokebreaths and Whispering Deaths. Fortunately, their Queen recognised the pair from previous encounters, and when both the dragons and their riders claimed *"No threat"*, the widely accepted plea for leniency amongst dragons travelling through other territories, she allowed them to spend the night on her island, if not in her nest.

The next day they flew out even further, over Dark Deep and on towards Dragon's Edge, their old outpost. Their course took them further out to sea, zigzagging in a search pattern trying to pick up on any sign of the hunter's vessel. It was getting into late afternoon, close to an early sunset this far north, when Stormfly gave a triumphant shriek and exclaimed, *I've got it!*

She surged forwards; Toothless shook his tired wings out and chased after her, their riders whooping at the sudden acceleration of speed. It wasn't long before they spotted the medium sized boat that Stormfly was tracking…the same boat, as Hiccup confirmed with a look through his spyglass, that they had spotted moored away from the destruction of the fort. Why it had been spared was a mystery, but they assumed that whoever the dragon thief was, he or she hadn't wanted to strand the trappers, merely…inconvenience them.

"Should've stranded them" Hiccup muttered under his breath…but not enough for Toothless, who had excellent hearing and was _right underneath him,_ to not hear. *Why didn't you?* he asked, glancing back at his rider. He and Stormfly were circling the boat lazily, high out of range.

Hiccup gave him a puzzled look and he elucidated, *Why didn't you strand them? You saw their boat…you could have told me to sink it*.

Glancing over at Astrid, and briefly wishing he was better at thought-speak or had gained the deeper mental connection that heart bound pairs were supposed to develop, Hiccup leaned over and murmured, "Why didn't _you_ sink it?"

*You didn't ask me to* came the blunt but sensible reply.

"I wish I'd thought to interrogate them about this other rider when we were there…would've saved a lot of time".

*They were trying to capture us and haul us off to their 'lunatic boss'* Toothless reminded him, *and besides, no-one thinks of the best way to do something the first time around*.

Hiccup smiled, and stroked his neck gratefully. "You're right, I shouldn't dwell on it. Let's just stick with the plan" he decided.

*Are you going to do your Hiccup thing?* Toothless inquired with a curious croon.

Puzzled, Hiccup whispered, "My what?"

*You know, when you make people change their minds about dragons. Are you going to do that to them?* Toothless clarified. Hiccup frowned slightly. "Why would I wanna do that? People like that don't change" he insisted, a little bitterly.

*You mean people who think dragons are bad will always think dragons are bad?*

"Yeah, exactly".

*Just like your dad* Toothless pointed out, feeling quite pleased with himself for figuring out that flaw in Hiccup's argument. That was saying something, because the usual tactic he resorted to on the uncommon occasions they argued was to pin Hiccup down, proclaim that he won because he was bigger, and then lick his little brother as a distraction until Hiccup forgot what they'd been arguing about. In all honesty, most of their arguments were in jest anyway.

"Ye- oh". Hiccup frowned at being caught out. Toothless glanced back at him and gave him a look, the look he gave when he was feeling particularly daring or mischievous, the look they shared just before they attempted a new manoeuvre. It was the look that said _what have we got to lose?_

"Hey, Hiccup?!" Astrid called over to him, "I'm sure whatever conversation you're having with Toothless is fascinating, but are we gonna…?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. He was asking if I was going to try and convince the trappers to be nice to dragons" Hiccup explained. Astrid, looking rather sceptical, inquired "Are you?"

He shrugged, looking rather sceptical. "It's worth a shot, I suppose…I mean, we won't know if they can change unless we try, right?" he suggested, trying to be somewhat reasonable.

"I guess so…so what's the plan?"

"Oh, I figured we'd just take the direct approach" he replied, adjusting the tail fin and deftly steering Toothless into a shallow dive straight towards the ship. Astrid rolled her eyes in annoyance and said "Follow him, Stormfly, and be careful". Her dragon chirped an acknowledgement, and swept down towards the ship herself, quickly catching up to Toothless.

Down on the boat, Eret was lecturing his men about the urgent need to improve on their current situation. Thank goodness those wretched fire-breathing beasts had left _one_ of the ships spare; that damn dragon rider with their creepy mask had probably made their fanged pets leave it alone, probably thought it was a mercy. If they turned up at Drago's fleet with nothing…he had thought about simply sailing in the opposite direction, but he just _knew_ that Drago would track them down eventually.

"Keep your eyes peeled, lads!" he urged his men, for the hundredth time on their two and half week voyage so far. They had barely seen any dragons, and the ones they had seen hadn't come close enough to be worth the effort of capturing. What Eret couldn't have known, is that Hiccup and Toothless had told the Berk dragons about the trappers, who in turn had warned dragons from other nests and territories. Word had spread until it reached the dragons who fished in the waters they sailed through, who were avoiding all human boats and fishing elsewhere instead.

"With this wind we'll reach Drago in a week, maybe less, so best we fill this ship up with dragons and quick! It's no time to be picky"-

"Uh…Eret?" one crew member said tentatively.

"-Not if we want to keep our…" Eret turned around and spotted two dragons – not just any two, but the ones who had gotten away from them; the Nadder and that incredible Night Fury – swooping down towards them. "HEADS!" he yelled, "OFF THE PORT QUARTER! Net 'em, lads! Take 'em down!"

The trappers rushed to obey. Eret loaded the nearest catapult and took aim at the Night Fury – he'd taken somewhat of a dislike to the dragon's rider, the snarky show-off with his fancy flaming sword who acted like dragons should be treated like they were _human._ "You're not getting away this time" he muttered, "Fire!"

Deed followed command, but the dragons easily dodged the nets, not caught off guard at all. Why were their riders even telling them to come down here? Oh, who was he kidding, they'd probably smelled the fish bait and were rushing in for a free meal, the dumb animals. "Reload!" Eret shouted, wishing his crew would hurry up and net the damn creatures already.

"Come on, reload! Incoming!" shouted Tinni, his second in command. Before they could, however, the dragons had reached them, and landed on the deck, as calm as could be. "And here I was worried we might turn up empty-handed" Eret remarked with a smirk. It wasn't the most conventional way to capture a dragon, but he'd take it. The crew stood and stared at the dragons, not sure what to do. They weren't used to dealing with dragons who landed on the deck of their ship so calmly, or dragons with riders.

"Oh, we just came down to ask you something" the smart-mouthed dragon loving kid explained, he and his presumed girlfriend dismounting.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"This dragon thief you mentioned – which way did they go?"

Eret frowned suspiciously. "Why would you want to know that?"

"Well, if you must know, I want to ask them to help us defeat Drago" Hiccup admitted. There was a pause, and then Eret laughed. The other trappers followed suit with nervous chuckles, but they clammed up when Eret glared at them over his shoulder.

"There's no defeating Drago. He'll find wherever you're from and crush it…if you have any sense, you'll do as he says. Maybe then you'll stay alive".

"You'd be surprised; we're a pretty stubborn bunch" Astrid interjected, with an amused smirk.

"If you'd just kindly tell us which way the dragon thief went, we'll get out of your hair" added Hiccup.

"I don't have to tell you anything" Eret refused. It was rather childish of him, but he decided that he didn't care. Clearly these riders weren't in league with the one who kept plaguing him, as he'd first thought, and he had no interest in enabling them to form an alliance.

Astrid started to climb back into the saddle, but Hiccup put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back gently. "Oh, well in that case we'll just stick around; let our dragons rest for a bit…they've flown a long way. You know, Stormfly followed the scent of your boots all the way here? Deadly Nadders are amazing trackers. Although, you might want to think about washing your footwear more than, say, once a month" Hiccup told Eret and the bewildered trappers casually. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, we'll even throw ourselves in the brig!"

"Huh?" Astrid blinked at him – where had _that_ come from? – but before she could protest, he'd opened the hatch leading below deck and ushered her into it, before following her in himself. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him. He made a 'be patient' gesture at her, and looked up when Toothless approached the hatch, saying *Wait for me!*

"Ah, Toothless, stay" Hiccup instructed, briefly winking at his dragon, before saying aloud, "Yeah, the dragons don't really care for cramped spaces, so they'll just hang out up here with you. They won't be any trouble – unless you do that" he remarked, as Toothless growled at a trapper who gamely tried to sneak up on him with a net. The man gulped and backed off…Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly were rapidly coming to the same conclusion. These guys were the worst dragon trappers _ever._ "Wooden boat, big ocean…how is your swimming?"

"Not good" one of the trappers admitted sheepishly.

"Well, leave them alone and they'll leave you alone" Hiccup advised, before stepping down the ladder and sliding the hatch shut. Toothless whined anxiously; he didn't like Hiccup being out of his sight like this. A moment later he jumped – they all jumped – when a flaming sword shot up through the gap that served as a handle. Then the hatch was shoved open again and Hiccup stuck his head out like a Sand Wraith popping out of the desert, holding Inferno. "Almost forgot, can't have armed prisoners" he said, retracting the blade and holding it out.

Only when Toothless moved back behind the hatch did Tinni dare to reach out and take the silver pommel, turning it over in his hands with a look of befuddlement. For some reason, one end was expelling a familiar, pungent green gas…

"Just what every dragon trapper needs. One end coats the blade in Monstrous Nightmare saliva, the other releases Hideous Zippleback gas" Hiccup explained, moving down the ladder slowly, smirking, "All it takes is a spark and…" With perfect timing, one of the trappers – the one who wasn't good at swimming – accidentally triggered the spark, and the gas exploded in a cloud of smoke and sparks, sending them all coughing and choking.

"Yeah, see, there you go!" Hiccup smiled, standing back up after ducking down to avoid the explosion. "Once they see you acting like one of their own, you can befriend even the testiest dragon; right, bud?" he asked Toothless, who had reared up and was playfully batting at the pretty little embers floating around in the air. The trappers stared at him in bewilderment…they'd never seen a dragon do that before.

"Give me that!" Eret snapped, snatching the hilt from Tinni and throwing it overboard. Stormfly chased after it; it was important, she knew, and besides maybe they could play fetch. She liked playing fetch, it was fun. "What game are you playing?" Eret demanded of Hiccup.

"We're not playing a game, she is" he replied innocently. Eret frowned, but before he could ask what that was supposed to mean, the Nadder landed on the deck again and dropped the hilt he'd thrown overboard at his feet. Scowling, he snatched it up and flung it off the other side…the dragon turned around and leapt after it again.

"What's it doing?" one of the trappers asked, bemused. Astrid had joined Hiccup on the ladder to watch the fun, and replied " _She_ wants to play fetch. It's her favourite game".

"Toothless likes playing chase the light spot and tug of war" Hiccup added, "don'tcha, bud?" he smiled, petting his dragon as Toothless gave him an affectionate nuzzle. Just then, Stormfly came back with Inferno, shaking the water off herself and getting most of it on the trappers. "Hey, Stormfly! Can I have my sword back, please?" Hiccup asked her politely.

Much to the surprise of the trappers, Stormfly immediately moved over and dropped the blade into his waiting palm. "How'd you do that?" asked Tinni.

"Do what? I just asked nicely" Hiccup shrugged, "A little politeness goes a long way. Dragons are smarter than people think. You know they can understand human speech? No joke, it's like a magical, innate translator in their heads. I haven't quite figured out how it works myself" he admitted, idly looking around the deck and up at the mast.

Eret scoffed; of all the ridiculousness things he'd heard, that one took the cake. "Yeah, right; you really expect us to believe that nonsense?"

"You don't have to believe it" Hiccup shrugged, "Doesn't mean it's not true".

"And I'm the King of the Wilderwest" Eret said mockingly, "Pull the other one, kid, it has bells on".

"I'm not pulling anything" Hiccup said innocently, "Just give me five minutes. I can change your mind about dragons".

Eret started to scowl; then changed his mind and smirked instead. "Tell you what; since Drago won't care if I deliver you dead or alive, I'll give you as long as it takes to remove that loud, oversized head of yours. How's that?" he suggested mockingly, drawing his sword. Toothless glared at him and snarled, but Hiccup motioned for him to stand down. *Watch me* he managed to instruct. Toothless reluctantly obeyed.

"Fair enough…hey, is my head really oversized?" he asked Astrid, who was sitting on the grate. She smirked and shrugged, "Your hair is".

"Ha, ha, hilarious" he said sarcastically, stepping towards Eret, who moved so they almost circling each other. He pulled the Monstrous Nightmare spit cartridge out of Inferno and deployed the now flameless blade. To Eret it looked flimsy, but he remembered how it had sliced through Oskar's sword.

*Hiccup, be careful!*

He made an 'it's okay' gesture to Toothless and remarked, "So, you trap dragons and take them…north? To Drago?"

Eret jumped up on the side of the ship and swung around a rope, sword raised. "Except when they're stolen by you!" he cried, jumping towards Hiccup; who calmly stepped aside and cut through the rope holding a pile of barrels, which Eret landed and had to run on to keep his balance.

" _Right,_ our good friend the dragon thief and their ice spitting buddy".

"Your days of rescuing dragons are over" Eret declared, making another swipe at Hiccup, who dodged backwards, "Drago has found the ice-spitter's cave! Soon all your dragons will be claimed for his army".

"Ah! Yes, the dragon army. How did he pull that off? Dragons aren't the easiest to _train!"_ Hiccup yelped as Eret jumped off the barrel, and kicked it right at him. One small blast from Toothless and the barrel exploded; Hiccup raised an arm to shield himself from the shrapnel. He shot Toothless a grateful look, but then Eret was right in his face, grabbing him by the tunic.

"Even _dragons_ know better than to cross Drago Bludvist. Is this part of changing my mind?" he smirked sceptically.

Hiccup pulled away and grinned, "That part's coming". He cut through another rope and held on tight as it yanked him up to the spar of the mast. His arm ached and he had rope burn, but never mind that. The rope jerked to a stop and he fell clumsily onto the spar, holding on tight and retracting Inferno again. Eret started climbing up after him, whilst Toothless, Astrid and the others watched worriedly from the deck.

"Come now; Drago's about to take over the world!" Eret remarked as he climbed up onto the spar to face Hiccup, who had just got his balance, "You're either with him or against him, and as I see it, against is the losing side". He swiped at Hiccup, who tried to block it with Inferno only to have his sword knocked out of his hand. Seeing him disarmed, Toothless snarled *I've had enough!* and started climbing up after him.

"Boss, look out!"

Hiccup and Eret looked down to see Toothless clawing his way up the mast and rigging. "Your pet won't have time to save you" Eret remarked, advancing on Hiccup until the younger man stumbled and landed on his back, defenceless. "Any last words?"

Hiccup unsheathed his dagger. "Just this!" he announced, slicing through yet another rope; this time, one that was keeping the spar and thus the sail taut. The tension broke, the two of them were catapulted up into the air like pebbles out of a slingshot.

Eret screamed in terror and fury. "YOU IDIOT!" he yelled at Hiccup, who just smiled smugly at him. Then of course gravity took over, and Eret screamed again as the ice cold water besides the ship rushed to meet him…only to feel claws wrapping around his shoulders, and his stomach flipping over as a dragon – the Night Fury! – snatched him away from the waves in the nick of time.

"PUT ME DOWN!"

"HOLD ON!" Hiccup shouted back, "WHOO-HOO!"

Toothless pulled a loop de loop over the ship and swooped down to land gently on the deck, dropping Eret, who stumbled away from him as quickly as possible. The rest of the crew were staring at them open-mouthed. "So?" Hiccup asked calmly from Toothless' saddle. Astrid handed him his Dragon Blade.

"So _what_?" Eret stared at him incredulously, "You nearly got us killed and your dragon saved us!"

" _Exactly_ " Hiccup smiled down at Toothless fondly, petting him in apology for alarming him, "Once you earn their loyalty, there is nothing a dragon won't do for you".

"They've done enough for us already" Eret grumbled sourly; then a shadow fell over them and the boat rocked, shuddering in the waves, as a large monstrous nightmare landed on top of the mast. Hiccup and Astrid couldn't believe their eyes.

"Snotlout?" demanded Astrid, "What the heck are you doing here?"

 _Vikings give themselves such stupid names_ Eret thought briefly, before crossly demanding, "What does this look like, a dragon rider pit stop?"

"Hey, pal, we just followed them" Snotlout protested, pointing down at Hiccup and Astrid. To them he added, "You didn't think we'd let you have all the fun, didja? We've been following you".

Hiccup had to ask, " _We_?"

No sooner had he asked, than the others joined them…well, Fishlegs hung back, but the twins sent their dragon right in. Hey, if Hookfang was getting away with it, B&B decided, why not them?

Ruffnut took one look at Eret – or to be more exact, at his muscles – and a slow, disturbing grin spread across her face. "Oh, _me likey…"_ she said slowly, "Barf, quick, grab 'im!"

Barf obligingly snatched Eret up and dangled him from sharp fangs by his collar. He struggled, looking both disgusted and horrified when Ruffnut jumped down and pressed herself up against him, growling in what she apparently thought was a sexy sort of way. "Hello, sailor…" she flirted, the stench of her fish oiled hair invading his nostrils. Eret felt bile rise up in his throat, and tried to shove her away, but she clung onto his arm. "Get her off me!"

Tuffnut pulled a face in disgust when he realised his sister was flirting. Snotlout looked ready to murder Eret. Astrid and Hiccup weren't sure whether to gag, or burst out giggling. The dragons, on the other hand, thought it was hilarious, and laughed, clucking and gurgling.

Suddenly, Hiccup had an idea. He whispered it quickly to Astrid, who nodded in agreement, and then marched over to prise Ruffnut from Eret. "Hey! What gives?" she protested, struggling ineffectually.

"Tell us where the dragon thief went, or I'll let your new girlfriend go" Astrid told Eret.

"You think you can threaten me?" Eret blustered.

"Hey, Ruffnut; when I let you go, be sure to give your new beau a big, sloppy kiss on the li"-

"Alright, alright!" he yelled, "I'll talk! The dragon thief went north as well. They live up there, in some…some lair, probably covered in ice, big spikes of it, like"-

"Like the ice that broke your fort" Hiccup finished for him, "Makes sense. Hmm…" he frowned thoughtfully, and came up with a plan. "Barf, put Eret down and pick up Ruffnut" he instructed first. The Zippleback head promptly dropped the lead trapper, who staggered away, and scooped up Ruffnut – Astrid stepped aside just in time.

The five dragons left the ship – the trappers were far too bewildered by everything they'd seen and heard to give chase – and gathered overhead. "Okay, guys, here's the plan. I didn't think you guys would show up, but since you're here – Snotlout, you go north-east. Fishlegs, you and the twins, go north-west. Astrid and I will go straight due north. Keep an eye out for a dragon nest, or a camp, or anything that looks like it's surrounded by spikes of ice.

"If you haven't found anything by sunset, turn around and come back. We'll regroup on one of the larger icebergs around here, and find somewhere to make camp. If you _do_ find something…or someone…make sure you can find it again, and then come and find us. Use a Terror Mail, if you need to" he advised. It turned out most Terrible Terrors were happy enough to give messages, even wild ones, provided you bribed them with a bit of food first. "Any questions?"

"Err, yeah…what are we doing out here?" Tuffnut asked dumbly, "Cos I just came along cos _they_ were going, and I hate to be left out. Besides, I thought you two were looking for a dragon thief, but you were talking to trappers…unless dragon trapping and dragon thieving are the same thing?…Yes! That's it! The poor innocent dragons, stolen from their lives, their lives stolen from them! OW!" he yelped, when Ruffnut leaned over and thwacked him.

"Shut up! Hey, I have a question! Can I stay with that hunk down there?"

"No" Hiccup said bluntly.

"Aww, you're no fun! At least tell me his name" she pouted, "Please, please, _please…"_

"…Eret, son of Eret" Hiccup said finally, if just to shut her up.

Ruffnut sighed dreamily. "It's perfect" she murmured.

*I'm young for a dragon, and I feel old* Toothless deadpanned, *Are we going to search for the dragon thief or not?*

"Right, right – you all know the plan. Move out!" Hiccup ordered. Everyone stared at him; Toothless rolled his eyes at them, and took a deep breath. *He said _go!_ * he roared; startled, the dragons hurriedly flew off in their assigned directions. Toothless and Stormfly turned about and flew due north.

"Are you sure they won't get lost?" Astrid asked Hiccup as they flew.

He shrugged, and replied "Hopefully not…but we can't watch them all the time".

/

Back on Berk, Stoick had discovered that not only had his son and future daughter-in-law flown away (with his permission, however reluctant it was), but the rest of that motley crew had disappeared as well, _without_ permission. It wasn't the time for them to be gallivanting off…and part of Stoick…okay, all of Stoick couldn't help but feel like he'd made a mistake, letting Hiccup go. He tried to tell himself it was foolish, but…he couldn't help himself. It _bothered_ him. Fatherly instincts, he'd call it.

"Saddle up, Gobber" he told his old friend firmly, much to the blacksmith's consternation, "We're going on a little trip north".


	6. Revelations and Reconciliation

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: I think the song for this chapter will be 'Please Don't Go' by Joel Adams.

Chapter Five – Revelations and Reconciliation

The day, already waning, drew towards its twilit hours. Creatures of the day flew and slunk and scurried back to their burrows and nests. Those of the night began to stir, waking at the onset of dusk. Out in the north, where the days were short indeed, few creatures were out and about...save for five dragons, and their riders, who were scouring the ocean for an elusive figure, that at least one of them wasn't convinced really existed.

"This is stupid" Snotlout complained for the umpteenth time, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm them up. "Hey, you think you can turn up the heat a bit, Fangster?" he asked his dragon. Hookfang obliged, setting most of his body on fire. His rider sighed in relief and scratched his neck, even adding a grateful "Thanks, pal*.

*You're welcome* Hookfang replied, purring to let Snotlout know he was pleased. He could tell his rider was annoyed, but he didn't really understand why. They were looking for a large spiky iceberg, or at least that's what Hookfang thought Hiccup had meant. They had something to focus on, they were hunting! It would be better if they had a scent to follow...perhaps that was why Snotlout was frustrated.

He tried to ask if this was so, in a way his human rider might actually understand. First he dived as if going in for the kill, eliciting a yell of alarm which went ignored. He pulled up again and snarled frustration, then shook himself, chattering his fangs together to show feeling cold, and sniffed loudly. "What? What the heck are you doing...?" Snotlout stopped himself and tried to figure it out, pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead.

He struggled to remember what Hiccup and Fishlegs had written in the Book of Dragons, about the different noises dragons made depending on how they were feeling. Snarling and growling were signs of anger - the deeper and longer the snarl, the angrier they were. So Hookfang was angry, but not _that_ angry... "Are you annoyed too?" he guessed hopefully, "Cos we haven't found this dragon thief or their spiky ice lair? Cos I feel the same way!"

Hookfang actually couldn't care less about not finding the spiky iceberg - icebergs moved slowly, and if they didn't track down their quarry now, they were bound to come across it eventually. "This whole thing is stupid – those trappers probably just made the dragon thief up" Snotlout grumbled, conveniently ignoring the fact that it had been _his_ idea to follow Hiccup and Astrid out there.

"Ugh...come on, Hookfang. Let's head back, it's getting dark" he said finally, as the sun dipped ever closer to the horizon. They turned about and headed back the way they came. Idly, Snotlout wondered how the others were getting on, and planned to switch places with Fishlegs the next time they went out searching for this ice lair or dragon thief.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fishlegs and the twins weren't having much luck either. "Oh, gosh!" Tuffnut shouted at the top of his lungs, "I sure hope no-one comes to steal our dragons! That would be very, very...err...inconvenient!"

"Shut up, would ya?" Ruff complained, "I'm trying to look at those icebergs down there, and your stupid shouting is distracting me!"

"Yeah, well _I'm_ trying to get the dragon thief's attention. I mean, how can anyone who steals dragons resist this double helping of handsome scaly goodness!" he asked, gesturing to B &B...before grudgingly adding, "Oh, and I guess they might want to steal yours too", with a dismissive look at Fishlegs and Meatlug, doggedly flying alongside them.

Shooting Tuff an annoyed glare that went totally ignored, and leaning down to pat his dragon in apology for the rudeness, Fishlegs retorted, "The dragon thief steals dragons from trappers and hunters, not dragon riders. Ruff has the right idea - we should be looking for their ice lair, not the thief themselves".

"Huh? Oh, I wasn't looking for that" Ruff admitted blithely, "The bergs just remind me of my dream guy...ooh, that one looks like his flexed muscles" she said dreamily, pointing down at a large ice berg that did look, if one squinted, like a flexed arm with bulging muscles. Then she groaned in frustration and complained, "But I can hardly see them now! It's too dark!"

Fishlegs started - he honestly hadn't realised how late it was. "Oh, gosh - Hiccup said to turn back if we hadn't found anything by sunset. Come on, you two...or do you want to try and keep searching in the dark?"

Understandably, neither of them did, so their dragons turned about and headed back, following their own scent trails to where they'd begun.

* * *

Toothless and Stormfly were flying due north, gliding on good winds in the crepuscular fading light. There'd been no sign of any spears of blue ice or other dragon riders besides them...Hiccup groaned aloud at the lack of success and flopped back against Toothless' split spikes. *Are you okay?* Toothless asked with a concerned croon.

"Hiccup? What's wrong?" Astrid called over from where she sat astride Stormfly. Hiccup waved his hand dismissively and replied, to both of them, "I'm fine...I just kind of hoped we'd have seen something by now" he complained.

"Well...finding them was kind of a long shot in the first place" Astrid couldn't help but point out.

Hiccup sighed and admitted, "Yeah, I know...hey, Astrid? Thanks for coming out here with me. It's nice to have company".

*I'm right here, you know* Toothless grumbled; but he knew what Hiccup meant, all the same. Hiccup stroked his wing reassuringly; _of course_ he appreciated Toothless' company, always, but he'd meant more for the both of them.

"You're welcome" she smiled that gorgeous smile at him, before adding, "But we should probably turn back soon. It's getting late".

Stormfly's nostrils flared suddenly, and she croaked uneasily. *More dragons...following us* she warned. Toothless opened his mouth to taste the air, and scented them as well. They were flying over low clouds, and a movement below him made him growl a warning, as well as prompt Hiccup to sit up again. Much to the consternation of both the riders and their dragons, a mysterious figure with a strange, dragon like masked helmet seemed to rise out of the clouds, and then sink below them again.

Hiccup and Astrid shared a 'what the heck just happened?' look. "Okay..." Hiccup said slowly, "No sudden moves..."

Without warning, the clouds before them were burst and swirled apart as a huge dragon - far larger than theirs - flew right in front of them. Stormfly and Toothless hurriedly back-winged and hovered, their riders watching in wary confusion as the dragon circled them. Atop its back - they couldn't tell what gender it was, they'd never seen a dragon like it before - stood the mysterious figure, with a quarter-staff she pointed at them rather ominously.

"Err...so I guess this means we found the dragon thief" Hiccup said uncertainly, trying to look on the bright side.

"Um, no...I think they found us" replied Astrid, as the unfamiliar dragon came all the way around and hovered in front of them - it's two wings became four, beating in sync. *No threat* both Toothless and Stormfly claimed together; they were obviously in this dragon's territory, but they hadn't known!

*We didn't mean to invade your territory* Stormfly insisted.

"What do we do?" asked Astrid.

*We were turning back anyway!* Toothless explained.

"Hello? We come in peace!" Hiccup ventured.

*My rider wants to question both of yours* the strange new dragon revealed, rather ominously.

*What do you-* Toothless was cut off by the sudden sound of wind rushing against wings. Alarmed, he looked back just in time to see another dragon swoop up behind him - and snatch Hiccup right off his back. Hiccup felt claws wrap around him, as did Astrid, and they both screamed, their dragons roaring, as they were yanked from their saddles.

" _Toothless!"_

* _Hiccup!*_

"Agh! Stormfly, get Toothless!" Astrid shouted over her shoulder to her dragon, who dived to save the plummeting Night Fury. She caught him in her claws, but dislodged Hiccup's helmet, which had been attached to the saddle. The headgear tumbled down, blown about by the wind, to the ice covered water below. The dragons, a whole flock of them, flew onwards, leaving the leather helmet lying on an ice floe.

"No, no, no, no, _no!"_ Hiccup panicked, thrashing in the grip of the dragon whose claws he was dangling from. "Take me back! Please!" he begged, struggling, all his instincts screaming at him to reunite with Toothless as soon as possible. The dragon ignored him; he heard Astrid yelling at their captor, the masked rider who had…signalled? Ordered? …two of her dragons to tear them off of theirs. Of all the scenarios he'd plotted out in his head for when they encountered the dragon thief, this wasn't one of them.

"HEY! Let us go!" Astrid shouted as loudly as she could, her voice cracking, "Put us back on our dragons! Are you even _listening_?!"

Feeling desperate, Hiccup drew in a deep breath and as loudly as he could, with all his fear and longing behind it, he screamed and shouted in thought-speak, * _STOOOPPP_!*

Oh, Thor, his throat was raw after that – but it _worked._ Every dragon nearby heard a human yelling in thought-speak, clear as a cloudless sky, and they all slowed to a hover, giving Stormfly a chance to catch up. *Give us back our humans!* she squawked indignantly.

*I'm _heart bound_ to mine!* Toothless hissed at them, fearful and angry. The owl-like dragon gave a small roar, to get their attention more than anything else. His – at least, he had a male sounding voice – rider pointed their staff first at Astrid, then Stormfly, then Hiccup, and finally Toothless. The dragons obviously knew them well enough to understand even these wordless commands – the one holding Astrid lifted her up and over Stormfly's back, before dropping her into the saddle again.

Getting Hiccup back into Toothless' saddle was going to be trickier…so a Monstrous Nightmare hovered underneath the Night Fury, who was still being clutched rather uncomfortably between Stormfly's claws. *Let him go, I'll catch him* she encouraged, so Stormfly dropped Toothless off onto a rather precarious perch on the back of the fire-scale, and the unfamiliar dragon holding Hiccup dropped him off onto Toothless' saddle.

They were off the drakaina's back straightaway, and Hiccup leaned over to hug his dragon as best as he could. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay" he murmured hoarsely, reassuring them both, "Oh, you really had me worried there".

Toothless crooned comfortingly, wishing he could land so he could comfort his rider properly. The dragons began to fly onwards; trying to escape at this point was tempting, but it seemed like a bad idea, so Toothless and Stormfly flew with them. Most dragons chased others out of their territory, especially the more…exclusive kinds. Being escorted to a strange nest was unusual; Hiccup and Astrid could only share a helpless, 'what else can we do?' look and hunch down, trying to lessen the chances of them being scooped up like prey again.

Astrid shuddered as that analogy flitted across her mind. Hiccup had made it clear – the majority of dragons didn't eat humans, recognising them at least as fellow sentients if not as potential allies, but she'd still been scared out of her wits when they'd lifted her from Stormfly's back. Hiccup must have been even more terrified…he'd explained to her that when a heart bound pair was separated against their will, not by choice, it was a distinctly unpleasant experience. Dear gods, that _scream…_

Their captor was clearly a person of few words, and was too far ahead to make attempting to demand answers rather futile. So they flew on in silence, although Astrid was planning out _exactly_ what she was going to say to this so-called dragon thief, in between wondering what had become of the others. She hoped they were okay…but they could, for the most part, take care of themselves. She hoped. There was nothing she could do about it right then.

The dragon who had snatched up Hiccup was now flying alongside Toothless; the black dragon eyed him suspiciously, baring his teeth in a warning – _do not try to take him again._ Looking at them from the corner of his eyes, he whined and croaked _nervous_ and _curious_ at the same time. Nervous of Toothless, and rightly so, but curious about his rider… *How can your human use thought-speak?*

*Because we're heart bound* Toothless snapped back, figuratively and literally. The dragon somehow managed to flinch in mid-air. *I didn't know humans could heart bind* he said cautiously, with a small apologetic whine.

*My human is special – he has the soul of a dragon* Toothless replied…and then, because he knew Hiccup was as curious as a Changewing, he asked *What sort of dragon are you? We've never seen one of your kind before*.

*Our kind call ourselves Chin-diggers* the dragon explained; it was fitting, for he had a defined protuberance under his jaw. *But I think humans call us Shovelhelms. My name is Clawlifter*.

*My name's Toothless* the Fury replied, *This is Hiccup, that's Stormfly and Astrid* he added, gesturing with a small jerk of his head towards their companions.

*I _am_ sorry for grabbing your rider* Clawlifter said apologetically, *Cloud-Jumper's rider signalled me, and I trust her, and I thought you'd just fly after us…*

*I can't fly on my own – missing tail-fin* Toothless explained, before asking *This other rider, who is she?*

*She's a friend to dragons* replied Clawlifter, although his happy purr was lost in the wind somewhat, *She's sort of like one of us. Her name is Valka*.

That made Hiccup blink in surprise; what an odd coincidence. His mother's name was Valka…but she was dead. She'd been killed in a dragon raid when he was just a baby…

Except that his father had told him that she'd been carried off by a dragon. They'd all assumed it had taken her off to be eaten, but now that he knew dragons (for the most part) didn't eat humans…and Stoick had said, when he'd asked for more details, that he remembered the dragon who took her had two pairs of wings…Hiccup looked ahead to the rider standing regally atop her dragon's back. _No_ he told himself, _It couldn't be…_

"Don't worry about the whole separating us thing – you didn't know" he reassured Clawlifter, who looked visibly relieved. Heart binding, for dragons, was practically sacred. To even accidentally separate a heart bound pair was guilt-inducing - to do so deliberately was unthinkable.

*At least we weren't apart for too long…if that happens to us again, it will be too soon*.

"Don't worry, bud. I'm not going to let _anything_ happen to you" Hiccup assured him, "I promise".

* * *

About an hour later, when the sun had long since set and they flew only by the light of the moon, the dragons arrived at their nest. It was far more than a 'large, spiky iceberg' – a whole mountain fortressed by huge spears of ice, formidable and foreboding. It was equally unnerving on the inside, as they flew through a chasm and landed in the centre of a large cavern, filled with dragons of all shapes and sizes. They crowded around the newcomers, whistling and croaking curiously.

*More human friend-of-dragons?*

*The male can use thought-speak!*

"What are they saying?" Astrid asked nervously, dismounting.

"It's okay, they're just curious" Hiccup reassured her, "Hang on…" He pulled out Inferno and ignited the blade, giving them a bit of light in the darkened cave. The dragons purred and cooed in wonder at seeing a human make fire so quickly, like a dragon would, with no need for wood or flint. *Hiccup is like one of us. You can trust him* he heard Toothless tell them all. Then Stormfly added, *You can trust my human too*.

Bravely, Hiccup looked around and addressed the cavern of dragons. "No threat. We're friends. My name is Hiccup, and this is Toothless. This is my desired, Astrid, and her dragon, Stormfly" he explained, gesturing to each of them in turn. He walked forward, holding a hand out towards Clawlifter. The Shovelhelm took a few steps towards him as well, sniffing curiously at his outstretched palm.

Just as Clawlifter's scaly snout was about to touch his palm, Hiccup heard Astrid gasp; startled, he pulled back and spun around. The dragon thief – he'd forgotten to wonder where she'd gone – was there, watching them through the creepily blank gaze of her mask. Hiccup moved back to Toothless' side, standing so he was a bit between the dragon thief and Astrid. "Who are you?" he asked warily, "The dragon thief? Do you…understand what I'm saying?"

It had occurred to him that the dragon thief, since they seemed to live with dragons, had perhaps gotten out of the habit of speaking aloud…after all, unless one could hear thought-speak, it was somewhat difficult to have a conversation with dragons. Only now, however, did it occur to him that there'd been no guarantee that the thief would speak Norse – he cursed his inability to properly think things through. Gods, and he was supposed to be one of the cleverer ones.

Astrid wasn't content to stand in silence, naturally. "You didn't have to pull us off our dragons, you know" she protested indignantly, "You could have just – I dunno, beckoned, or something. We would've come with you if you'd just _asked_ ".

Rather than reply, the dragon thief shook her staff – it rattled, and that must have been a signal she and the dragons had worked out between them, because every dragon filled their jaws with fire, illuminating the cave. "We came out here to find you" Hiccup explained, "We need your help…"

She moved towards them, not walking as a human would, but sort of…crawling, moving on all fours… _like a dragon would._ Hiccup and Astrid shared a confused glance. Toothless eyed her suspiciously, baring his teeth and growling a warning not to harm Hiccup. "It's okay" he murmured, putting a hand on his dragon's head, the signal for 'stand down'.

The thief was right in front of him now…she rose halfway to her feet, and reached out a hand – like him, she wore fingerless gauntlets, with dragon claws set over her fingers. Her cool fingers pressed against his face and held his chin, much to his discomfiture. Disturbed, he tried to pull away, but her grip was surprisingly strong. He remembered what Clawlifter had said and couldn't help himself, he had to know...

Before he could ask though, the masked rider gasped, and in a voice somewhat hoarse from lack of use, she said "Hiccup?! It _is_ you…"

 _She has a Berkian accent…but it couldn't be…_ Hiccup thought as she backed away from him a few steps, and pulled off her helmet at last, revealing herself to be a middle aged woman…with grey streaked _auburn hair, just like mine, and blue-green eyes...dad said mum had blue green eyes..._ _  
_

"After all these years…how's this possible?" she asked, staring at him as if he were a ghost. To be fair, he was staring at her in much the same way. Astrid and the dragons were watching and listening in silence, both confused and curious. Hiccup swallowed hard, and asked uncertainly, "Are…are you…sh-should I know you?"

"…No" she murmured, looking away, looking guilty…she glanced at him again and added, "You were only a babe…but a mother _never forgets…_ "

Conscious thought ceased entirely; for a few moments all Hiccup could think was _What?!_

The dragon thief – his _mother_ – smiled tentatively, nervously, and beckoned to him, to all of them. "Come" she murmured, retreating deeper into the caves…

Astrid found her voice again and asked, incredulous, "That's your _mother_?!"

Hiccup stared at her, jaw dropped, shocked even as his suspicion was confirmed. *Should we follow her?* asked Toothless, startling him to action. He grabbed Astrid's hand and pulled her off after the dragon thief…he just couldn't think of her as his mother, not right away…shouting "Hey! Wait!"

Toothless followed the pair; Stormfly tried to, only to realise that the tunnels they were climbing through were too small for her. *Follow me, I'll show you another way through* Clawlifter offered. The two dragons took the long way around; meanwhile, the humans and Night Fury scrambled through uneven tunnels; Valka moved through them with ease, but Hiccup and Astrid were struggling to keep up.

"Hold on! Wait just a minute!"

"This way!"

"You can't just say something like that and run off! Do you…do you grasp how insane it sounds!" Hiccup protested as Toothless pushed him up and over a steep ledge. "Thanks" he briefly muttered to his dragon.

Astrid picked up where he'd left off. "You're his mother? How is that even _possible_? You could be anyone!"

"I could be, but I'm not. Come!"

"Well…prove it!"

"You were born in the early morning on the last day of February" Valka replied, "I know, I was there".

"Slow down! We have questions - Where have you been all this time? What – what have you been doing? They said you were dead. Everyone thinks you were killed by…"

Hiccup trailed off as he emerged into the heart of the nest…a vast geothermal oasis, filled with greenery from ferns and moss, and dragons, so many dragons. Hundreds of them, roosting, flying, chatting, feeding, playing, bickering…he and Astrid looked all around in wonder, only to realise that Valka had disappeared again. Astrid looked around and spotted her sitting on the shoulder of her dragon, hanging from a ledge above them.

Unable to think of anything else to say, Astrid could only ask, "You…you've been living here, for twenty years?"

Valka gave a small nod. Astrid looked around again, at all the dragons, and realised, "You rescue them…and bring them here, don't you?"

Again, Valka nodded, smiling a bit. Still reeling a bit from the revelation of her existence, Astrid half-jokingly remarked to Hiccup, "I think I see where you get it from".

He started a bit, and muttered "Huh? Oh…yeah…I guess now we know where I get my dramatic flair…heh…" He swallowed and shifted awkwardly, his stance stiff. He'd started to think, really think about what all this meant…and he didn't like where his thoughts were taking him. He couldn't help feeling a bit…well, betrayed _._ Toothless sensed his distress and whined _worry_ and nudged him, asking *Hiccup, are you alright?*

Almost absent-mindedly, he patted Toothless on the head, looking out into space, lost in thought. Astrid frowned slightly in concern, and unknowingly asked the same question as Toothless. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" he answered quickly, giving her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I mean, this is great. We found the dragon thief and she's my mum…who I haven't seen my whole life, really…not that it matters now, it's all in the past, right?" he shrugged casually.

Valka looked hesitant, almost afraid, and guilty. "Hiccup…" she said slowly, "I...I know I must have…disappointed you..."

"I'm not disappointed" he replied, shaking his head, "It's just…it's hard because..." he sighed, and looked his mother in the eye, and said sadly, "You didn't come back. It…it's been twenty years and you never…I mean, did you even come back in secret? Just to check on me?" he asked her, half doubtful and half hopeful. Doubt won the day when she didn't reply, but the stricken expression on her face told him volumes.

He sighed and looked down, scuffing his toes in the moss. "I thought not…if you had, you would've come back for good…wouldn't you? I mean, you know what…what dad is like. He's better now, we get along fine but…he wasn't exactly the best parent a lot of the time...I mean, it's no big deal – I'm over it, honest, it's just…I thought you were dead" he sighed, looking at her again, "I really missed you, but I moved on…and now, now I find out you've been alive this whole time, and I…I can't help feeling like…you just didn't care enough to come back" he admitted.

His mother's eyes went wide, and she gasped. "Oh no, no, no, no; I do love you, really, I always have!"

Astrid hesitated, not sure if she wanted to get involved…but she felt she ought to say her piece. "Hiccup, it's not really her fault…I mean, if anything, it's his" she pointed out, gesturing at Valka's large, owl like dragon, who narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that" she retorted, refusing to back down, "You're the one who took her in the first place, aren't you? The least you can do is apologise to Hiccup and explain why".

"He"- Valka cut herself off, and motioned for her dragon to put her down. He lowered her by her staff on his wing claw, and she slid down his other wing to the ground. Hesitantly, she took a few steps towards Hiccup, reaching out as if to embrace him, but stopped herself and swallowed hard. "You're right" she admitted, "I should have come back sooner…I never meant to make you feel like I'd abandoned you. I thought you'd grow up like any other Viking, happily enough without me, I should have realised…you needed me".

She took a deep breath, and described her story. "Berk…twenty one years ago, you know, Berk was a dangerous place. It was a world of kill or be killed…but I believed peace was possible" she confessed, "Even then, I thought there had to be more to dragons, that slaying them would only make things worse…it was a very unpopular opinion. Then one night, a dragon broke into our house, finding you in the cradle.

"I rushed to protect you…but even as I did, I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to kill it. Yet what I saw… was proof of everything I believed. The dragon wasn't attacking you, it was… _playing_ with you...it heard me and _looked_ at me…not through me like other dragons had…he looked at me, and I looked at him and I realised, this wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature, whose soul reflected my own…

"But then your father attacked him– I can't blame Stoick, but after Cloud-Jumper took me away…I realised that if things had gone wrong, if he hadn't been benevolent….you and your father nearly died that night, all because I couldn't kill a dragon". Valka sounded so regretful as she continued, "And at the time, I didn't think things could ever change…I thought if I came back, I'd be rejected all over again, that I'd just make things worse for you. I thought you'd be better off growing up without being the boy with the crazy mother…"

She swallowed and finished, "It broke my heart to stay away, and I was tempted not to…but I believed you'd be safer if I did. I know I…I can't undo the past, but I am so, _so_ sorry, son. I love you, please don't doubt that…please, forgive me" she begged, her eyes filled with tears.

When Hiccup didn't reply after a few moments, Cloud-Jumper whined guiltily in the back of his throat, and confessed *I too am sorry…that night, I was hunting far from home, I only came to your nest to see why the dragons of the local pack were raiding you. They told me nothing but 'She is hungry', and I could not understand them. I was going to leave when I heard a human hatchling – a baby – crying in a house. I feared the infant was alone and afraid, and went to investigate…

*I broke in and saw the baby - saw you…and you weren't afraid of me. I heard someone coming and confronted them, but they – she, Valka, she wasn't afraid of me either. Well, she was…but she didn't blindly attack me, or scream in fear…she just stared at me. I saw that she was different; she didn't look at me as though I were a monster, and no human had ever done that before. I felt drawn to her. I felt like she didn't belong there, in a nest of dragon killers.

*So I rescued her…or I believed I had. I didn't realise until much later that the red haired human who attacked me must have been her mate. I could tell by your scents that you were her hatchling; I would have taken you with us if your father hadn't picked you up first. I brought Valka back here – I was so proud to have found a human who seemed to be a dragon inside. The truth is…I had a young sister once, she died decades ago, but Valka…Valka reminded me of her, somehow. I took her away and kept her so I could pretend I had my sister back. That was selfish* he admitted with another whine of guilt.

A brief silence – it lasted only moments, but it felt like an eternity – followed before Hiccup turned to Astrid, and whispered to her. He told her the gist of what Cloud-Jumper had told him, and confessed that he sympathised…after all, he felt similarly about Toothless, even though he'd never had a previous human sibling. "What do I do?" he wondered, eyes wet with unshed tears, "I want to forgive her, but…"

Astrid bit her lip and replied, "I don't blame you for being upset…but you never hold grudges. That's not you".

Toothless crooned comfortingly and nuzzled him. *I can't see my mother again* he reminded Hiccup, *but _you_ can. I think you should forgive her*.

They were right, of course, both of them. Hiccup rubbed his eyes dry and turned to face his mother, taking a deep breath. As betrayed as he felt, he couldn't bring himself to resent her – it just wasn't in his nature, and he'd found his _mother_ again, why was he complaining?

"I forgive you" he told her and Cloud-Jumper, "both of you".

They both gave sighs of relief; Valka took a step forward, reaching out as if to embrace him, but then stopped herself. "Thank you" she said instead, gratitude sending tears trickling down her cheeks, "I promise, I'll do better this time".

The sound of beating wings and a happy squawk made them look over to see Stormfly and Clawlifter landing nearby, the other dragons creeping in for a closer look at the new humans now that all the posturing and shouting had stopped. "Stormfly!" exclaimed Astrid, joyfully hurrying over to greet her dragon, "I was wondering where you'd gotten to, have you made a new friend?"

Valka looked from her son to the young woman and a slightly mischievous smile tugged at her lips. "So, err…I couldn't help overhearing…did you say you desire Astrid? That's very forward of you, I hope you're going to marry her first" she asked teasingly; because really, didn't all parents embarrass their children? It was practically in the job description.

She resisted the urge to laugh as Hiccup flushed bright red and stammered "I – I didn't mean– we are going to – we just – uh – I meant – um - Astrid!" he pleaded with her to help him out. Astrid took one look at his mortified face and burst out laughing, but when she'd gotten over her giggles, she took pity on him and explained, "I'm his fiancé, Astrid Hofferson. It's um…nice to meet you, Mrs Haddock".

"Oh no, please dear, call me Valka. It's very nice to meet you too" Valka smiled a proper smile, not the tentative small one she'd given before. She looked between them and sighed, feeling rather nostalgic. "You really are all grown up, aren't you?"

"I guess" he shrugged, feeling as awkward talking to her as she did to him. "It, uh, it might take a while for me to wrap my head around this" he admitted, "I mean…it's not every day you find out your mother is some sort of crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady".

Valka chuckled nervously, and half-jokingly remarked, "Ah. Well. At least I'm not boring…right?"

"I suppose there is that" Hiccup admitted wryly, petting the snout of a dragon that had come over to say hello. *Are you really heart bound to the black dragon?* the newcomer asked curiously.

*Yes, he is, and I'm a Night Fury, also called Swift-wing, and we're Toothless-Hiccup* Toothless replied, spreading his wings to shoo away the overly curious dragons, feeling slightly uncomfortable with all the attention. Hiccup chuckled, and then a thought occurred to him. "You know,Toothless is an orphan…and he's my brother, in a way, so…how do you feel about having a dragon for a son?" he asked his mother hesitantly.

Both she and Toothless stared at him in surprise. "Oh, I…I wouldn't mind that at all. C-can I…?" she asked tentatively, reaching a hand out to Toothless. He glanced at Hiccup, who nodded encouragingly, and then moved towards her, purring. "Oh, you are beautiful" she praised, kneeling down to greet him properly, smiling as he nuzzled her cheek. He dropped his jaw and gulped playfully; to his delight she returned the gesture, and he purred louder, pulling his teeth in and giving her a gummy smile.

"Oh, and retractable teeth!" exclaimed Valka in wonder, all but putting her head in his mouth to get a better look, "Incredible…oh, I've never seen a Night Fury this close" she remarked, cooing over him and rubbing his belly when he wriggled and rolled over in her lap. "They're so rare, however did you manage…?"

Hiccup shifted awkwardly. "I, uh…found him in the woods. He was...shot down and wounded…"

His mother frowned, and rose to her feet, walking fearlessly amongst the dragons she called her friends. "This Snafflefang lost his leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps…this Raincutter had a wing sliced by razor netting…and this poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare, and then left to die alone and scared" she murmured, cradling the head of a Nadder like dragon with a frill instead of spikes, whose purple scales flushed yellow as he nuzzled Valka. Hiccup and Astrid both looked sympathetic; they weren't strangers to the cruelty of hunters, after all.

*Valka helps us all* Clawlifter told Stormfly, Toothless and Hiccup. It still seemed a bit strange, to have a human be able to hear thought-speak, but it was a good, interesting kind of strange.

"And what of this?" asked Valka, examining Toothless' prosthetic tail-fin, "Did Drago or his trappers do this too?"

Hiccup gulped; Astrid, on the other hand, smirked in amusement. "Busted" she sing-songed teasingly. He shot her a half-hearted 'please shut up' glare, and when his mother looked confused, he could only laugh nervously. "Err, ah heh…see, err…the funny thing is… _I'm_ actually the one who…shot him down" he confessed, before hurriedly adding, "Hey, it's okay though! He got me back! Didn't you, bud?" he asked, grinning as Toothless nipped harmlessly at his hands, mock-wrestling with him, "You couldn't save all of me, could you, you just had to make it even. So…peg leg!"

He gestured to his own prosthetic – Valka made a mental note to ask him about that, it had been bothering her. Hiccup chuckled as Toothless playfully ducked behind him and tossed him onto the black dragon's back, and he hugged his best friend. Valka saw him look at his dragon with an expression that spoke of volumes of trust, devotion, camaraderie and love…and she saw Toothless look back and up at him in the same way. He looked at his fiancé in a similarly adoring way; one was a gaze shared between fast friends, the other a gaze shared between young lovers.

They looked so sweet together, and Valka almost didn't want to break the tableau of her son, his fiancé and his dragon, standing there like a family…but she couldn't help asking, even as she petted Astrid's Nadder; Stormfly, such a lovely name, and she was a beautiful dragon too… "So, um, what did your father think of your Night Fury friend?"

"Oh…he didn't take it well, at first" Hiccup admitted, "But then, he changed. They all did. Now, pretty much everyone on Berk has a dragon companion".

Valka could hardly believe it…yet Hiccup and Astrid and their dragons were right there, living proof. She'd spent twenty years telling herself that returning home would be fruitless, in a desperate attempt to stave off the guilt she'd harboured for leaving it, however unwillingly at first, behind. Now, though…she _wanted_ to believe it. Suddenly she remembered something; in all the emotional turmoil and introductions, it had completely slipped her mind. "Back in the other cave…did you say you needed help?"

"Oh, yeah, I can't believe I forgot" Hiccup chided himself, "So, uh, you obviously know about Drago Bludvist…" With Astrid's help, he explained how Berk had been preparing for a siege by Drago's army, and how he'd heard about her – well, about 'the dragon thief' from Eret, and flown out there to find her to ask her if she would help them defend against, or even better defeat, Drago before he took over the entire archipelago. "Will you help?" he asked her, hoping she'd say…

"Yes…yes, I'll help" Valka nodded, and he sighed in relief. Astrid smiled as well, but then _she_ realised something.

"Uh, Mrs Haddock…I mean, Valka…I'm not mad about it anymore, or anything, but…why _did_ you get your dragons to pull us off ours? You never said".

Now it was Valka's turn to blush in embarrassment. "Oh, that…yes, uh, I'm sorry about that. It's just that I know Drago is nearby and I've been a bit paranoid lately, and I'm afraid he or his men will start riding dragons – well, more like forcing them to be ridden – and I _might_ be a bit out of touch with dealing with humans, and I may have over-reacted just a little…but if it makes you feel any better, if Stormfly hadn't caught Toothless, he wouldn't have been in too much danger. There are Sea-Shockers around who would have helped him to shore" she rambled awkwardly.

Hiccup figured now would be a good time to change the subject. "This is great" he smiled happily, "When you come back to Berk, with all your dragons – oh, man, Drago won't know what hit him! Especially not when you have an ice breathing dragon…what sort of dragon is that, anyway?"

Valka smiled rather mysteriously, and beckoned for them to follow her. "The ice breather…he's the Alpha of this nest" she revealed, leading them down a rocky and mossy path towards a natural basin in the centre of the meadow. As they got closer, Hiccup and Astrid both realised that the mass of blue tinged white, which they had mistaken for part of the nest, was in fact a breathtakingly enormous dragon, even larger than the Red Death. _That explains the giant footprint in the mud_ Hiccup thought in the back of his mind, recalling the destroyed fort on Crash-Cliff Island.

Astrid's eyes went wide and round. " _That's_ the ice-breather? He's the one who caused all that damage?"

"He _protects_ us" Valka replied, "With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our nest, a safe haven for dragons everywhere. We all live under his care, and his command…all but the babies, of course" she laughed, as a little troupe of large eyed fledglings hopped over to swarm around Toothless, pestering him with questions about what sort of dragon he was and where he'd come from, "who listen to no one!"

*Help!* Toothless yelped as the infant dragons all but smothered him. Cloud-Jumper roared at them all, shooing them off. Toothless panted and blinked gratefully at him. *Thanks!*

*You're welcome. You have to be firm with them – they really don't listen to anyone, this kind. Not even as adults*.

"But what sort of dragon is he?" Astrid pressed, "We've never seen anything like him before".

"He is a sight to behold" Valka agreed, as they came to a halt at the edge of the basin in which the Alpha rested. "This is the great Bewilderbeast, perhaps the last of his kind. Every nest has its Queen or its Alpha, but this is the _King_ of all dragons" she revealed, kneeling respectfully.

The Bewilderbeast rose to greet the newcomers to his domain, and they found themselves standing before a massive dragon, even larger than the Red Death, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to gaze into their very souls. Cloud-Jumper lowered his head submissively, as did Toothless and Stormfly…Astrid gripped Hiccup's hand, gasping in wonder. Hiccup was tempted to bow as well…this dragon was so ancient, so powerful and caring and wise.

He braced himself for what would surely be very loud thought-speak…but the King's thought-speak was so vast, so all-encompassing, that it transcended mere sound. Hiccup didn't _hear_ anything, he _felt_ it.

* **WELCOME** *

The King gently blew a cloud of snow, little more than a brief flurry of icy crystals over them, that settled in their hair and on their shoulders. "He likes you two" Valka smiled at them.

"Wow" Hiccup breathed, amazed…he wondered what the King made of him, a human heart bound to a dragon. Did he know?

* **AWARENESS. INTRIGUE. GRATITUDE*.**

Yes, he knew, he had met many heart bound pairs and he could sense the brotherhood and love between them. He was interested – a human being able to heart bind was new, even for one such as him. He was grateful to Hiccup and Astrid for being friends of dragons, as his mother was.

 _*The lost one will return…*_ Selena's words, Cybil's prophecy, echoed in Hiccup's mind. He realised now, it could only have meant his mother…and in that moment, he knew that he'd made the right decision in coming out here.


	7. Twenty Years in the Making

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'The Great Divide' (McClain Sisters) and 'Wake Me Up' (Avicii).

Chapter Six – Twenty Years in the Making

The next morning, when Valka awoke, a brief glance told her that her son, his fiancé and their dragons were all still asleep. She went aside to dress and wash her face; a muffled snort of laughter prompted her to look back from where she was standing by a trickle of meltwater. Astrid hadn't been as asleep as she had thought; the younger woman looked at her, eyes twinkling, and grinned, pressing a finger to her lips. Then she pointed at Hiccup and Toothless.

When she saw them, Valka had to smother a snigger herself. At some point in the night, Toothless had rolled over onto his back (he must have felt very safe there, most dragons slept on their stomachs to keep their vulnerable necks and bellies secure). Hiccup had somehow ended up on top of him, sprawled out on his chest and stomach. Funnily enough, Toothless had folded his forelegs over Hiccup's shoulders, holding him there like a child hugging a rag doll, or an otter clutching their pup.

Judging by the amused gleam in Astrid's eyes, this sort of thing happened a lot. Stormfly and Cloud-Jumper began to wake up, croaking sleepily and shaking themselves and yawning. Toothless yawned and blinked awake as well, found Hiccup on top of him, and grunted in resignation. He rolled over carefully, but as it was Hiccup still got dumped unceremoniously on the ground. Luckily the blanket he'd spread out to lie on stopped him from getting too badly bruised.

Scowling sleepily at this rude awakening, Hiccup looked ready to curl up and go back to sleep again. Toothless gave himself a vigorous shake, then lowered his head and licked Hiccup repeatedly. His rider groaned in protest and pushed his snout away. "Geroff" he muttered grumpily, "….Morning" he added, in answer to Toothless' cheerful *Good morning!*

He yawned and struggled to get to his feet, using Toothless as a crutch. Hiccup rubbed his eyes and looked up at Astrid and his mother, who had been watching his sleepy antics with amused smiles. "What?"

"You could…sleep a bit longer, if you want" Valka said gently, "Both of you".

"Oh, don't worry, we're morning people" Astrid said brightly. Hiccup wanted to retort that she'd not been much of a morning person a couple of days ago, but thought better of it. He hadn't gotten as much sleep as she had; he'd been thinking, and then Toothless had rolled over in his sleep, so he'd climbed on top of him…he wasn't sure why, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

*I'm hungry* Toothless said bluntly. Hiccup rolled his eyes and remarked, "Yeah, and besides, the dragons are probably hungry".

Even as he spoke, they heard many dragons roaring in excitement and eagerness, flying past Valka's cave. "What's going on?" Astrid inquired, watching them.

Valka smiled and reassured them, "Oh, don't worry. Come and get some breakfast" she smiled enticingly, "It's feeding time".

* * *

She led them out of the Ice Nest on their dragons, Cloud-Jumper hovering over an unprepossessing patch of ocean, facing Toothless and Stormfly. The dragons of the nest milled and circled around them. Confused, Hiccup called to his mother, "Hey, I thought you said we were getting breakfast?" Shouldn't they be closer to the water if they needed to fish?

"Oh, we are!" she beamed, looking down past her dragon's head at the frothing ocean far below. Hiccup and Astrid looked down as well, and saw a pod of Sea-Shockers circling around a bait ball of fish…then the Alpha burst from the ocean, his mighty tusks almost reaching the three of them hovering high above. With a tremendous _whoosh,_ he flung hundreds, if not thousands of fish into the air, much to the delight of the dragons.

Valka burst out laughing at the looks on Hiccup and Astrid's faces. Toothless licked his lips and glanced back at Hiccup, asking *Can I…?*

Hiccup gestured _help yourself,_ and Toothless needed no further encouragement, folding his wings and diving with his mouth open. He snapped up as many fish as he could, smiling and gurgling happily. Hiccup laughed; he could hear Astrid squealing and laughing too, as Stormfly ducked and weaved through the throng, snatching up her own breakfast. It was clear why the King was such a good alpha for this nest – unlike the Red Death, he provided food for those under his care, not the other way around.

Valka caught some fish in a basket, and led the two of them away from the rest of the pack to a nearby island. The nest itself wasn't such a good place for sitting down and cooking a meal; dragons could perch on the ice spears, with their claws and long tails, but it was easier for the humans to land on some rocks blown clear of snow by the wind, and start a fire sheltered by their dragons wings, and cook the fish to eat.

For a little while they ate in silence, but gradually, Valka's curiosity got the better of her. She'd missed so much of her son's life, and she was determined to make up for her foolish, selfish mistake now. The question was where to begin… "So" she began tentatively, "I suppose we have a lot to talk about".

"I guess so" Hiccup agreed, feeling a bit awkward – not because he was still upset with her, but because he didn't know where to begin either. "Um…what do you want to know?"

"Everything" she answered at once; then blushed. Astrid looked between them, smirked and remarked, "Well, that might take a while".

They chuckled, the metaphorical ice broken. Valka gave Astrid a grateful smile; she'd taken quite a liking to the young woman, and felt Astrid was a fine match for her son. The two of them certainly seemed close; not in an overly mushy sort of way, they were just very comfortable around each other. Hiccup was even more comfortable around Toothless, sitting back against his dragon's chest; Toothless didn't seem bothered in the slightest by this, as if they shared the same bubble of personal space.

"I suppose if we have to start somewhere…how did…?" Valka trailed off, biting her lip, and glanced down at Hiccup's foot…or rather, the lack of one. He'd implied that Toothless had something to do with its loss, but Valka found it hard to believe that the dragon that hugged him, comforted him and played with him, could have harmed him in such a way. Then again, she found it hard to believe that her son, who obviously doted on the dragon he'd called his brother, was the same person who shot Toothless out of the sky…

Hiccup looked down at his own prosthetic and sighed. "I guess that's as good a place to start as any...but you should know, it's not exactly the nicest story sometimes" he confessed. Toothless crooned _reassurance,_ and he felt the vibration run through him, strengthening his resolve to tell the tale.

His mother had hardly expected the loss of part of her son's limb to be a 'nice story', but all she did was nod and say "I understand".

So Hiccup took a deep breath, and began to explain. He described how he'd been desperate, growing up, to prove himself to his father and the other villagers, trying to slay a dragon like they all did and show them he could be their sort of Viking. He revealed how, when he was fourteen, during an early morning dragon raid he'd sneaked off with his latest invention, a bolas launcher, and against all odds, brought down the most elusive dragon of them all, the Night Fury.

Hesitating, because he never liked thinking about this part, Hiccup confessed how he'd searched the forest for the dragon he'd captured, and how when he _did_ find the Night Fury, he intended to kill it. Valka looked a little dismayed, and he couldn't bear to see the disappointment in her eyes, so he hurriedly pointed out that he obviously hadn't gone through with the terrible deed. He'd seen himself reflected in the trapped, frightened creature resigned to his fate, and freed the dragon...and to his considerable relief, was spared in return.

He told her how he'd found Toothless trapped in a cove, unable to fly away because of his missing tail-fin. She smiled to hear how he'd patiently earned the dragon's trust, naming him 'Toothless' after his peculiar retractable teeth. He and Astrid both explained how Stoick, before going off on yet another search for the dragon's nest, had placed Hiccup in dragon training – and how Hiccup, using what he learned from Toothless, went from being the worst in class to the best in just a few weeks.

Valka learned that Astrid once didn't appreciate Hiccup so much, and indeed was incredibly jealous of him when he 'earned the honour' of killing a Monstrous Nightmare. Her discovery of Toothless led to her being taken on a first terrifying, then exhilarating flight that changed her perception of dragons, and Hiccup, considerably. Especially when he'd refused to betray his first real friend even to give the Vikings an advantage in finding the nest, she'd gained a newfound respect for him.

His mother was a great audience; smiling at the happy parts, gasping at the exciting and scary parts. Hiccup started getting into the story, gesturing wildly as he described his and Toothless' near-disastrous first proper flight with the prosthetic tail-fin, and the stunts Toothless had pulled to trick Astrid into apologising, and the horror of the cannibalistic Red Death sending the dragons to raid them lest they be devoured themselves. Valka watched him with a small smile never quite leaving her face, drinking in his words and his features and mannerisms.

Hiccup explained how he'd tried to tame the Nightmare, and show the people of Berk that dragons weren't the mindless beasts they all assumed – only for Stoick to inadvertently spook the stressed creature, who lashed out at Hiccup. Toothless had rushed to the rescue, only to be captured by Stoick and the other Vikings. Needless to say, Valka was _not_ happy when Hiccup confessed that his father had temporarily disowned him…but she refrained from saying anything, knowing that she was hardly in a position to talk.

Astrid explained how she'd helped Hiccup get over his self-pity party and actually _do_ something to fix his mistake; namely, taming the Nightmare and the rest of the training dragons, pairing them up with the other teens, and flying out to Dragon Island to rescue Toothless and everyone else from the monstrous Queen of the nest. Hiccup described how his father had saved first him, and then Toothless from drowning, taking back everything he'd said.

At last they came to the climax; Hiccup and Toothless' solo battle against the Red Death. Hiccup described how they'd been chased through sea stacks, and flown up into the clouds to blast the Queen from all sides. How the tail-fin had caught fire, so they'd dived straight down, and Toothless had sent a plasma blast right into the Red Death's throat to ignite the gases in her mouth, because dragons weren't fire-proof on the inside. How they'd tried to outfly the crashing behemoth, only for him to be knocked out of the saddle by the club tail and fall unconscious towards the flames.

Then Astrid took over, describing how Stoick had ran into the smoke and soot, and found Toothless lying exhausted on the ground with Hiccup nowhere in sight. Neither of them knew what Stoick had said to the dragon, but Toothless had unfolded his wings, revealing Hiccup, battered and with a grievous wound on his left leg, but alive. Toothless had been forced to bite his foot and inadvertently damaged it trying to flip Hiccup into his grasp so as to protect him from the inevitable impact.

They'd gotten Hiccup back home on dragon-back, amputated his leg from halfway down the shin, and left him to rest. Gobber made a prosthetic, which Hiccup had tweaked since then, that would work seamlessly with the new, improved tail-fin for the Night Fury that refused to leave his rider's side. Hiccup had woken to a near unrecognisable Berk, having earned the approval and respect of the entire village; just not in the way he'd expected.

"Oh…goodness, you…you certainly have been through a lot" Valka remarked hesitantly, feeling a strange mixture of pride and the horror only a parent can feel when their child gets into danger. _That was certainly one heck of a story…_

"Heh…you have no idea" Hiccup agreed, smiling…it slowly dropped from his face, replaced with a more thoughtful expression. "I…I want to apologise, for being so…accusatory last night. I kept thinking and I realised…if you had come back, or never left, I might not have met Toothless at all…and despite what we went through, I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything" he said decisively, smiling as Toothless gave him an affectionate nuzzle.

*Are you going to tell her about the you-know-what?* Toothless asked, at the same time as Valka assured him, "Oh, I think you two would have found your way to each other somehow; and there's no need to apologise, dear. I deserved it".

Hiccup managed to reply in thought-speak to Toothless. *I am* he answered, taking a deep breath and sitting down again, having stood up in the midst of getting into their story. "There's…there's something I have to tell you" he began slowly, "It isn't going to be easy to hear, but…you need to know". Toothless nuzzled him, Stormfly chirped encouragingly, and Astrid sidled closer, reaching out to hold his hand.

He smiled gratefully at all of them before turning to his mother, who looked confused, curious and a little worried. _I have to tell her_ he said to himself firmly, _Better now than never._

"Just this summer…something happened to me and Toothless. Err, d'you remember Trader Johann?" he asked, and Valka nodded. Granted, she didn't remember much about the man other than that he was loquacious and perhaps a little cowardly, but she knew who Hiccup was talking about.

"The last time he came to Berk, he told us about a ship that had been attacked off the coast of Myrkr, by…what the only survivor claimed were Night Furies. I couldn't pass up the chance to find more of them, but I…I was stupid, and I went alone. I told myself it was to keep my friends out of danger, but I was really just running away from my problems. We arrived on Myrkr's shores at the dusk of the second day, and…we were trying to save some captured dragons, but it was a trap. We were ambushed and captured by dragon hunters.

"The leader, Hauke...he tried to make me train the dragons they'd captured for battle, and when I refused he…ordered his men to...beat me up, and then he decided I'd be too much trouble…so he stabbed me" Hiccup admitted, looking down at his boot, unable to meet his mother's eyes.

She gasped, horrified, and exclaimed "He _what?!"_

Cloud-Jumper hissed, eyes narrowing in anger – not at Hiccup himself, of course, but at the other human's cruelty. Valka was angry too; a strong maternal urge overcame her, to find these wretched people and make sure they could never hurt her baby boy again…she'd been to Myrkr before, she could probably track them down –

"I know – I don't like to think about it" Hiccup confessed, "But if it helps…Hauke is dead. Toothless…Toothless killed him".

He wasn't sure how she'd react to that…but she simply looked Toothless in the eyes and told him, "Well done".

Of course, then she couldn't help but realise, "But if he…then how are you alive?"

"I was dying" Hiccup admitted; Astrid gave his hand a supportive squeeze as he continued, "I would have, if Toothless hadn't heart bound with me…" He explained how the heart bind was formed, and what it meant for them. "I'm ageing like a dragon now. I'll outlive everyone on Berk by…two centuries, at the least. Maybe more…" He swallowed nervously, looking at his mother…for approval, or comfort? Both, perhaps…he wasn't entirely sure.

Valka honestly didn't know what to say, or think, or even feel. Part of her was fascinated by the heart-bind and the dragon's thought-speak – she'd long suspected that dragons had a way of communicating that went beyond what she could see or hear from them, and it was good to have that confirmed. On top of that, she couldn't help but feel sympathy and pity for her sons, after everything they'd been through. Yes, 'they' – if Hiccup considered Toothless to be his brother, then the least she could do was treat them the same.

When she didn't say anything for a few moments, Hiccup fidgeted uncomfortably and opened his mouth to speak. Astrid pressed a finger over his lips and shook her head gently; he just had to give his mother some time. It was a lot to take in, after all. Astrid ran her fingers through his hair and began to braid the strands…Hiccup sighed, resigned to it, and glanced up at Cloud-Jumper. He wondered what the Stormcutter thought about it all; the larger dragon didn't say much.

*I've seen a lot of strange things in my time* Cloud-Jumper remarked, noticing the young human's curious glance. *I have to admit, a dragon and human heart binding is unusual*.

*So we've been told* Toothless deadpanned. Still, for some reason he couldn't help but want the older dragon's approval. *Does it bother you?* he asked, whistling _curious_ and trying not to be defensive.

Cloud-Jumper tilted his head and purred quietly. *I don't think it should…does it bother _you_?*

Toothless hesitated, and glanced at his rider, unsure what to say. It bothered him a little, because he could tell it would sometimes be hard for Hiccup…but it was a chance for more adventures and it had saved Hiccup's life…

Hiccup started to smile at him, and then a slender hand rested upon his shoulder. Surprised, he looked at his mother, who had moved noiselessly over to kneel in front of him. She didn't say a word; she didn't need to. She simply gave him a reassuring, understanding smile…he couldn't help but return it. Toothless purred, happy to see _him_ happy, and finally answered Cloud-Jumper's question. *A little…but we don't regret it*.

Valka moved back out of Hiccup's personal space, but stayed sitting – well, crouching – closer to them than before. Hiccup brushed his hair out of his eyes and remarked, "Y'know, I'm probably making it sound worse than it actually was. In fact, we…" He paused, and looked around as if checking for eavesdroppers, feeling like a giddy little kid again as he asked, "Can you keep a secret?"

Eyes shining and lips tugging in fond amusement, Valka pointed out "I've kept this place secret for twenty years. Yours are safe with me".

"Oh, right...okay, so you know how I said I'd gone to Myrkr to find Night Furies? We _did_ find them – a whole pack…" He told her what had really happened to the night furies, why they had disappeared, and a bit about the friends they'd made. In truth, Valka had already known there were Night Furies living in Myrkr. She'd seen a few from a distance once, but Cloud-Jumper hadn't taken her nearer. At the time, she'd thought perhaps the Night Furies had a reputation, even amongst dragons, for being particularly hostile.

Her doubts were raised considerably by Toothless, who was sweet and playful and clearly adored her son; she found it hard to picture him as 'the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself', although she imagined that if Hiccup were in danger he would be terrifying. The idea that the Night Furies had driven humans from their lands in an attempt to keep hidden didn't strike her as odd at all; the dragons of the King's pack did much the same thing, albeit without killing any human who came near the nest.

What surprised and touched her the most, was when Hiccup informed her that she reminded Cloud-Jumper of a sister he'd lost long ago. Valka blinked at him, and looked at her dragon, and saw him looking anywhere but at her, the scales of his neck ruffled up and flustered. She chuckled fondly, petted his great wing and told him she was happy for him to consider her a sibling. A thought occurred to her; she bit her lip and hesitantly asked, "In fact…since you're going to be around longer than I am…when I'm gone, you'll look after my boys, won't you?"

Cloud-Jumper purred, and lowered his head and nudged her. *Yes, of course* he replied.

"He says 'yes, of course'" Hiccup translated. Valka smiled and pet Cloud-Jumper in gratitude. Seemingly out of nowhere, Hiccup looked at Toothless and said "I'm not telling her that".

"Is something wrong?" asked Valka.

"No, no…Toothless told me to tell you that he doesn't need a babysitter, he can take care of himself and me just - wait a minute. Are you saying _I_ need a babysitter?" he demanded indignantly of his dragon, who bluntly replied, *Pretty much*, and nodded so Astrid and Valka would get the joke too.

"Why you-!" exclaimed Hiccup, scooping up a handful of nearby snow and splattering it over his friend's head. Of course Toothless retaliated, and the two of them chucked snow at each other. Then Valka and Astrid started throwing snowballs at them, pitting women against man and his dragon; then Cloud-Jumper rolled his eyes and leapt into the air, and Stormfly followed him, and they came back with their claws full of snow to dump on the human's heads.

Their play kicked up the snow and extinguished their fire, but it broke the ice, no pun intended, and Hiccup felt less awkward around his mother. He pulled his map out to show her all the islands they'd been to, smoothing it out on a flat patch of ice. "….And from Dragon Island, I found this archipelago…" he trailed off when he looked up, and saw Valka sketching a map out into the snow with her staff. He recognised Nott's Gate and Myrkr, but she had drawn the whole coastline – and other landmasses to the east. "Wow…" he smiled, amazed at how much she must have seen and done.

Astrid snorted suddenly, and mirthfully asked, "Hey, Toothless, what're you drawing?"

They looked over and saw him with a snapped off icicle in his mouth, reared up on his hind legs and dragging it through the snow. *I don't know!* he replied cheerfully, dragging the icicle around Cloud-Jumper – who turned his head all the way around to follow the smaller dragon.

"He says he doesn't know".

*Let me try!* Stormfly demanded, snatching at the ice. Toothless mock-growled at her – it sounded more like an annoyed gurgle – and tugged it away. *Get off! This is my icicle!*

*I want it!*

Watching the two dragons bicker like children over the stick of ice was hilarious, and watching them panic when it stuck to their tongues until it occurred to them to burn it away was funnier still. Valka gestured to the unfamiliar landmasses and explained, "That's Svalbard…and this is Norway, the ancestral home of all Vikings. Oh, and there's so much world beyond those lands…sometimes I wish I could just ride out and explore forever".

"I know what you mean" Hiccup smiled, "Can you tell me about where you've been? Toothless and I are going to be out there someday, exploring; it'd be great to have some pointers".

"Oh, of course, I'd be happy to".

"Great!" he beamed…then his smile became more forced and awkward, and he went a bit pink, sidling away towards some convenient rocks. "Uh, heh, I'm just…gonna…um, yeah…I'll be right back!"

Valka and Astrid at least waited until he was out of sight before they broke into smothered giggles, and moved away to give him a bit more privacy. Valka seized the opportunity to say, "Oh, Astrid, I hope you don't mind me asking, but…I was wondering how _you_ felt, about Hiccup being heart bound to Toothless?"

Astrid blew her hair out of her eyes and sighed. "I'm…not sure, really. I mean, I know it saved his life, and that there was no other way…so in a way I'm grateful for it, but at the same time...I never felt jealous about what Hiccup and Toothless have - and I still don't" she said hastily, "But part of me can't help but worry…what if this comes between us? It's not just the ageing – or lack of it – but from what he's told me, heart bound pairs are like soulmates; so I'm worried he won't have time for me" she confessed.

Valka gave her a sympathetic smile, and remarked "Well, it might be hard sometimes, but if you're both willing to work through it…"

"That's why I said yes when he proposed" Astrid admitted shyly, "Because, despite everything, I don't want to give up on him. I want to try and make this work, for as long as I can. Maybe things won't work out, but…I think I'd rather enjoy it while it lasts, instead of never letting it happen in the first place".

"I understand…and I just want to say, if you ever need to talk about it…I'd be happy to listen" Valka said reassuringly. Astrid gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks…huh, Hiccup's sure taking his time…"

Stormfly padded over and squawked at her. "What is it, girl?" asked Astrid. The dragon chirruped and tipped her head upwards. Astrid and Valka followed suit, and to their mild surprise saw Toothless and Hiccup flying above them, doing loop de loops. Hiccup waved to them from his perch on Toothless' shoulders. He'd already guessed that they would want to talk about the heart bind without him being there…so he'd generously given _them_ some privacy.

* * *

Valka showed them a special place where the rocks and a few geothermal vents funnelled warm air in a consistent upwards current, powerful enough to let a dragon hover without beating their wings at all. Toothless loved it, splaying his limbs and letting his tongue flop out of his mouth, a gummy smile on his face. Hiccup and Astrid laughed as they held onto their saddles, and were lifted up by the force of the wind.

Then Hiccup's mother smiled at them, and walked across Cloud-Jumper's outstretched wing, stepping down onto Stormfly's wing and deftly vaulting over Astrid, holding onto Stormfly's head-spikes. Then she swung herself down onto the back of a green and reddish brown dragon with a prominent chin and nose bump, practically dancing across their back. She hooked her staff onto the hide of the same kind of dragon, an orange and brown one, and braced herself against his flank.

The dragon carried her past Toothless; she dropped down onto his wing, but the wind made her light and she tip-toed across the black membrane, playfully mussing Hiccup's hair as she pirouetted over him, slipped off Toothless' other wing and landed safely back on Cloud-Jumper's back. If her son and his fiancé hadn't been holding on, they would have applauded.

Cloud-Jumper beat his wings, rising higher into the sky; Toothless and Stormfly followed him. Valka sighed happily. "Oh, when I'm up here...I don't even feel the cold, I just feel…"

"Free" Hiccup finished for her, and the two of them smiled at one another. Astrid smiled as well; it was sweet, to see them bonding, making up for lost time.

Valka spread her arms out triumphantly and declared, "This is what it is to be a dragon!"

*No-one needs to tell _you_ that* Toothless remarked teasingly; but it gave Hiccup an idea. "It's all well and good to call yourself a dragon" he said casually, locking Toothless' tail and unhooking himself from the saddle, "But can _you_ fly?" he asked as he hopped up on Toothless' back, and then dived off.

His mother gasped, leaning out over her dragon to see her son plummeting – but seconds later he spread his wings. Astrid giggled at the look on her face. "Yeah, he does that" she sighed, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. Cloud-Jumper looked at Toothless and remarked, *Your rider is quite adventurous, isn't he?*

*You have no idea* Toothless deadpanned, before suddenly remembering that Hiccup might need his help, and diving to catch up. Hiccup, meanwhile, was having a blast. "Ha, ha! Whoo-hoo!" he yelled, flipping himself over onto his back. He lifted his head and grinned at Astrid flying on his left, who laughed and gave him a thumbs-up. Then Cloud-Jumper and his mother appeared on his right, and Toothless was gliding behind him – or was it in front of him, if he was on his back…?

Suddenly Astrid gasped. "Look out!" she cried, and he flipped himself back over to see a rather prominent rock formation approaching him at a most unreasonable speed. *Hold on!* Toothless cried out, beating his wings harder and splitting his back fins apart. Hiccup didn't panic…much…he pulled his arms in and back the way a two-legged dragon would move their wings, slowing himself enough for Toothless to catch up. This time, when he dropped down he managed to land on Toothless' saddle.

There wasn't time for them to veer away or try to fly over the rock – but the formation had an open cleft running through it. The gap was narrower than it looked, and they just barely made it through when they barrel rolled…but they did it!

Toothless came in for a landing in the snow on the other side; Hiccup hopped off his back, grinning from ear to ear. "Ha! Whoo!" he cheered, punching the air, "Hey, mum, did you see that?! I didn't think we were gonna make it! We were so close to pulling that trick off, bud!"

*Hooray for us* Toothless deadpanned, swiping his tail to knock Hiccup over into the snow for the fun of it. He scrambled to his feet, and his mother came over to get a better look at his flight-suit. "Oh, incredible…" she murmured, and he smiled at the praise.

"Heh, well, Toothless helped" he said jokingly. Toothless purred happily and arched his back, showing off his split-fins. Then he bounded off and burrowed through the snow, popping out beside Cloud-Jumper and throwing snow onto the older dragon's head. Cloud tilted his head and let the snow slide off onto Toothless again, who gave him a gummy smile and shook himself vigorously.

Valka laughed at the sight, and then sighed and looked at her human son with fondness. "All this time, you took after me" she smiled, before it faded a little… "And, where was I? I'm so sorry, Hiccup" she apologised, cupping his cheek in her hand; he didn't pull away, but leaned into her touch. "Can…can we start over? Will you give me another chance?"

"Yeah" he nodded, "I…I'd like that".

His mother beamed at him, and pulled him into a tight hug. He was a little taken aback at first, but soon warmed to it and returned it. Toothless and Astrid were both happy to see him happy…but suddenly Astrid realised something. "Oh, my gosh!" she gasped, breaking the tender moment, "Sorry, it's just- the others, I ought to go find them. Thor knows what sort of trouble they're getting into". Disturbing, if mildly humorous visions of Ruffnut returning to Eret's boat and making a clumsy seduction attempt on the poor man danced through her mind, and she stifled a shudder – or maybe a giggle.

Hiccup had almost forgotten about the others, in all the…excitement, for lack of a better word, at finding his mother and the Sanctuary. "We'll go with you" he agreed, walking over to Toothless; but then Astrid quickly added "No, it's okay. I can look for them, you should…you should spend some more time with your mum".

He faltered, and frowned slightly, walking over to Astrid instead. Valka's brow creased worriedly as well, and she said "You don't have to go on your own, dear".

"I'll be fine" Astrid promised, "Stormfly and I will track them down, whilst you guys convince some of these dragons to come and help us. Do you want us to head back to Berk, or do you want us to come back here?" she asked Hiccup.

"Come back here – wait, no. Why go on your own? You don't have to" he insisted, "If you don't let me go anywhere on my own, you shouldn't go anywhere on your own either. It's not fair otherwise".

"I know, I'm sorry – but I promise I'll be careful. It'll be quicker this way, and they're probably looking for us too. I won't be long. Besides…" she lowered her voice, and whispered to him, "Don't get me wrong, your mum is lovely, but…I kind of feel like a third wheel. I'll take care of rounding up the mob, and you do what you do best – make friends with dragons. I can handle this, trust me".

"I do trust you, I just..." Hiccup cast about, knowing he probably couldn't convince her to let him and his mother come; she was a Viking, after all, they were as stubborn as it got. He looked up and spotted a Nadder flying nearby. "Hey, bud, you think you can get their attention?" he asked, pointing to the dragon. Toothless roared to them, and when they flew down to investigate, he told them *My rider wants to talk to you*.

Hiccup walked towards the dragon nice and slowly, taking care not to make any sudden movements. The turquoise and purple Spike-tail saw him approach and looked down at him and sniffed at his outstretched palm curiously, resting their muzzle against it. *You're the heart bound human, aren't you?* he asked, chirring curiously.

"Yeah, that's me, Hiccup. What's your name?"

*Sky Fire* the dragon replied. He was named for the beautiful rippling, flickering waves of light that hung in the sky at night in the dark winter, because the colours matched his scales.

"Nice to meet you" Hiccup smiled at him, scratching his jaw amicably, before saying "Listen, I know it's a lot to ask, but could you do me a favour?"

*What is it?*

Hiccup beckoned to Astrid, and placed her hand on the dragon's snout with his. "This is my fiancé, Astrid; Astrid, this is Sky Fire".

"Hello".

"She's going to go find our friends whilst I spend time with my mum…do you think you could go with her and Stormfly, and come back to find me if she needs my help?" Hiccup asked Sky Fire.

Sky tipped his head to the side, considering, and decided *I don't see why not…when are we going?*

"Um, right now, I guess" replied Hiccup. He looked at Astrid and asked earnestly, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Don't worry; I'll just find them and come right back here. Besides, they're probably looking for us too – well, Fishlegs maybe...the point is, I'd rather find them sooner than later. Less chance of them getting into trouble".

Her fiancé raised an eyebrow and asked, "You do know who we're talking about, right?" Then he sighed, and gave her a kiss, and added "Good luck".

"Don't need it" she winked at him, before heading back to Stormfly and swinging herself into the saddle. The two Spike-tails took off, and Hiccup watched them go, his heart twisting with uncertainty. Should he have let her go?

For the first time, he really understood why his father had been so reluctant to let him leave Berk…but Astrid was a capable warrior, he told himself, and she had Stormfly and Sky Fire watching her back – Sky Fire seemed trustworthy enough – so he shouldn't have too much to worry about. He'd give her a few hours, and then follow her, and he was sure his mother would come too.

*She'll be okay, she's tough* Toothless tried to reassure him, *She's Astrid*.

"Yeah, I know" he sighed, hugging Toothless' head as the black dragon nuzzled against him. Valka sighed; she too hoped Astrid would be okay, and these friends of theirs she was going to find…but she was out of touch with people, and dragons had no problems with letting each other wander far and wide, so she hadn't protested. She pet Cloud-Jumper's cheek, returned his affectionate slow blink, and walked over to join her sons.

* * *

A/N: I know it isn't the best course of action for them to split up, but the thing is, the other version of this story has less conflict. Everything would have just sort of fallen into place, and it got wrapped up too easily. I know how I want to write this story, and it's my story, so I think I can be forgiven for pulling strings and steering the plot the way I want it to go. It was either have a story where everyone is sensible but there's not enough emotional conflict, or have a story where the plot demands they do daft things, but there _is_ emotional conflict.


	8. For Better and for Worse

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for the last part of this chapter are 'A Thousand Years' (Christina Perri), 'Thinking Out Loud' (Ed Sheeran) and 'For the Dancing and the Dreaming' cover by Peter & Evynne Hollens.

Chapter Seven – For Better and for Worse

Many things were happening at once, and many paths were criss-crossing unknowingly. Whilst Astrid searched for the other riders and Hiccup explored the Sanctuary with his mother and Toothless, Stoick and Gobber were searching for him. They were on more of the right track, since Skull-Crusher could follow his trail directly, but Gobber had his doubts about this whole affair.

"Are ye quite sure ye've thought this through?" he asked uncertainly as they flew over towering icebergs. That was the biggest benefit of riding a dragon, even one as lazy as Grump – heated seats!

"What are ye talking about?" Stoick demanded irritably. Whilst he'd never admit it, he too was having doubts…but his worry for what might become of his son out here in the harsh tundra overrode them. The dissonance was making him feel uneasy, so he took it out a bit on Gobber. Fortunately the old blacksmith was used to that and paid no attention to his chief's rather cantankerous tone.

He merely replied, "Look, I understand you're worried about yer boy, Stoick; but Hiccup's not the same skinny little runt he was as a kid! He's grown into quite a capable warrior, if yer ask me. He's not gonna be happy that you're still treating him like a piece o' fragile china".

"I know that, Gobber".

"And he's got Toothless with him! Nothing's gonna hurt Hiccup so long as that Night Fury's around. It's a _N_ _ight Fury!_ "

"Toothless couldn't stop that hunter from stabbing him, could he?" Stoick retorted bitterly. Gobber frowned, and Stoick groaned, rubbing his temple. "I didn't mean it like that" he insisted, "I know those two would do anything for each other, but if they both get into trouble – especially since Toothless can't fly on his own" he pointed out.

Gobber had to concede his point. "Fair enough" he said, "But it's like you say, they'd do anything for each other. They've been captured before and found a way to escape. Besides, they've got that heart bind thing going on. They'll be even more set on keeping each other safe".

"Yes, but Gobber, that's just it!" Stoick exclaimed, gesturing wildly, "They're heart bound! If one of them dies, so does the other one; I have to protect both of them. I'm doing this for their own good".

"I know that, Stoick".

Stoick hesitated before adding, "And that's the other thing…Hiccup's gonna live as long as Toothless does, and a human living for centuries – it's not natural, Gobber! What if it starts to change him? What if he…gets a death-wish without realising it?"

"If you ask me, Hiccup already had a death-wish. If anything, being heart bound will do the opposite" Gobber reasoned, "Also, you do realise you just said you don't want them to die, but you don't want them to live for centuries. I'm afraid it's one or the other" he pointed out. Stoick didn't reply. Gobber sighed, and as gently as he could, pointed out "I'm not saying you're doing the wrong thing…but Hiccup and Toothless can take care of themselves. You can't keep them in a bubble forever".

Once again, Stoick simply stared ahead…but then he sighed, knowing that his friend was right. Something caught his eye on the ice below, and he tugged on the reins, steering Skull-Crusher down towards it. He snatched it up…it was Hiccup's helmet, abandoned on a floe. He cupped it in his hands, stared down at it…then his face set into a resolved grimace, and he held it for his dragon to sniff at and pick up the scent. "Find them, Skull-Crusher. Find them" he urged. Skull-Crusher bellowed, following the renewed scent and all but leaving Gobber and Grump in the dust.

* * *

Stormfly and Sky Fire alighted on a large iceberg. They'd chosen this particular one because Hookfang, B&B and Meatlug were already on it, as were their riders. "Where the heck have you been?" Snotlout demanded with a scowl when she showed up. They'd spent the night on Glacier Island, and he'd been subjected to a stupid Thorston sandwich…and sure, the Snow Wraiths stopped attacking them when they said "No threat", but he was pretty certain they still wanted to blast his butt off their island. Of course, that might be because he'd accidentally woken one up by tripping over it…

"Where's Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked with more concern, "And, err…who's he?" he added, pointing to Sky Fire.

Astrid replied, "Hiccup's fine. He's with the dragon thief – oh, and this is Sky Fire".

"Is he Stormfly's new boyfriend?" Tuffnut asked interestedly; both Nadders squawked indignantly, and Ruffnut punched him on the soldier. "Don't mention boyfriends around me!" she complained, "Eret son of Eret was the man of my dreams, and I _lost_ him!"

Astrid rolled her eyes at her melodramatic tone and replied, " _No_ ".

"You found the dragon thief? Where were they?"

"Just where Eret said they'd be – in a big spiky ice-berg" Astrid replied to Fishlegs. She should have known better than to try being metaphorical, because Tuff immediately asked "What, they were frozen? Did their ice spitting dragon aim wrong, or something?"

"Is Hiccup trying to thaw them out?" asked Ruff, "Cos we've tried to thaw people out of ice, but they just kind of stank afterwards".

"Yeah, they weren't any fun at all" her brother agreed solemnly. Astrid resisted the urge to face-palm, or ask Stormfly to fling a couple of spikes in their direction. Sky Fire tilted his head in puzzlement and asked *Are they always like that?*

*More or less…humans are strange* Stormfly replied with a resigned whistling sigh, *You learn to ignore the weirder ones*.

"The dragon thief isn't frozen – she and Hiccup are back at the nest" explained Astrid, "Which is where we should be. Come on" she said, and Stormfly spread her wings to launch…

"Hang on!" shouted Snotlout, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

At the sound of his yell Astrid had dug her heels down in the stirrups, the signal for 'don't launch'. Stormfly snorted and grumbled a bit, but complied nonetheless. Sky Fire, who had already taken off, hovered nearby.

"Okay, I'll bite. What is it I'm forgetting, Snotlout?"

"Drago's up in the north somewhere, right?"

"Get to the point, Snotlout" she demanded immediately; she wasn't in the mood to play that game.

"Oh, Astrid, sweet, naïve Astrid" he shook his head at her, and she glared at him, "The point is, why wait for him to come to us? I say we find this creep, blast him and his army to smithereens, and call it a day!"

*For once I agree* said Hookfang, with a slight growl of frustration, *I'm bored*.

*You're always bored* Meatlug retorted.

"You're kidding" Astrid said flatly, after staring at him for a few moments, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard – and coming from you, that's saying something".

"Nah, it'd be saying something if it was coming from one of us" Ruffnut pointed out, with surprising self-awareness, gesturing between herself and her brother.

"I kinda like the idea" Tuffnut added, "We haven't gotten to blow anything up since last night…that's like…lots of hours ago".

*Lots and lots of hours ago* Belch agreed.

Rolling her eyes, Astrid insisted, "We can't stop Drago's army by ourselves! You want to stop him? Follow me back to the dragon thief's nest, and I'll show you how we're gonna stop him".

"Err…" Fishlegs hesitantly raised his hand, as if he were in class, and Astrid turned her head to stare at him so fast she nearly got whiplash.

"You too?!"

He cringed and hurriedly explained, "W-well, I, I'm not saying we should try to _stop_ him. I'm just saying…maybe it wouldn't hurt to find him? Or his army, I mean. We don't know how far away from Berk it is, or how well armed…and if he's already in the north, then we wouldn't be going _too_ far out of the way…"

She wanted to growl in frustration like a dragon…but unlike Snotlout and his arrogant bravado, Fishlegs actually made a somewhat valid point. They had fortified Berk to the best of their ability, but what if it wasn't enough yet? As the saying went, before you went to war you'd better check out the size of your enemy's armada. Perhaps it would help to get an extra advantage over Drago, if they could learn the strength of his army and maybe even spot any weaknesses…

"Ugh… _fine_ " she relented, "But we're _not_ gonna fight them! We're just gonna sneak in, have a quick look at the army, and then _leave._ Is that clear?" she demanded, her fierce scowl just _daring_ them to say no.

Everyone nodded, even the dragons – even the _twins._ Satisfied, and planning to send Sky Fire back with a message for Hiccup when they found Drago's nest so he and Valka could come and get them out of trouble, Astrid patted Stormfly. They took off, circling upwards into the air. "Find Eret, girl" she encouraged her dragon, "We need to persuade him again".

* * *

Eret was in a foul mood. Not only did he have no dragons to present Drago with, which was a one way ticket to having his head liberated from his shoulders, but his stupid soft-hearted crew were actually having _second thoughts_ about dragon trapping!

He'd grown up on stories of the daring exploits of his father, Eret Sr. What could be better than the risk, struggle and glory of taking down such powerful beasts, ensuring they never plagued or terrorised a village again? When Drago had come along, of course he'd agreed to work for the man – sure, Drago was obviously insane, but he had power, power over dragons, and Eret preferred to be on the winning side.

Now a bunch of do-gooder wannabe-hero dragon riders were claiming they were gonna stand up to Drago, and their smug, snarky leader had somehow got it into _his_ men's heads that dragons could be friendly, that they weren't fire-breathing, village raiding, human killing harbingers of destruction. His crew just kept talking about that irritating Nadder trying to play fetch with the fancy flaming sword, and how the Night Fury batting the sparks had been kind of cute, and maybe dragons really _could_ understand what they were saying (of course they couldn't, the kid had made it up).

None of them seemed to have noticed that no dragons, meant more than no pay - it might mean no breathing! "Couldn't we just go back?" Noam asked uncertainly.

"We've nowhere to go, nothing to sell, and no heads to call our own!" Eret yelled at them all, "If we don't turn up with dragons, and fast – aagh!" he screamed as large claws wrapped around him and lifted him from the deck. In fairness, his crew made _some_ attempt to rescue their boss, but it was too little too late as Stormfly simply spun to avoid the net and carried Eret away, leaving them wondering what they were supposed to do now.

"Be careful what you wish for!" Astrid said cheerfully.

"What is this?!"

"A kidnapping" she replied bluntly.

"Yay!" cheered Ruffnut, "Can he ride with me, can he? Can he?" she begged, grabbing at Eret's arm. He squirmed away from her in Stormfly's claws, disgusted. Tuffnut agreed – it was so annoying, his sister getting all weird over a _guy_. With a roll of his eyes he veered them away from Stormfly and thus from the object of his dumb sister's dumb obsession.

"We need to know our enemy, so you're going to show us the way to Drago" Astrid informed Eret.

"And help dragon riders sneak into Drago's camp? Just kill me now" he replied fatalistically. It perhaps was not the best choice of words.

"That can be arranged" Astrid said casually, "Stormfly, drop 'im!"

Stormfly did, and Eret screamed as he tumbled through the air. "Great! Now fetch!"

Plummeting to his death, Eret had a sudden change of heart. "Okay! Okay, I'll take you to Drago!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Stormfly snatched him out of the air and he dangled from her claws, panting and seeing his life flash before his eyes. Astrid smirked and cracked her knuckles, satisfied. "Works every time" she smiled.

Still, she felt she ought to take precautions. "Sky Fire!" she called over to the male Nadder, who rolled an eye to look at her and squawked in acknowledgement. "Go back to the nest, and find Hiccup, and tell him where we're going" she instructed.

Sky Fire gave another squawk of acknowledgement, banked out of the formation and flew swiftly in the same general direction, but at a different angle. "Okay, Eret son of Eret, start talking. What's our heading?"

* * *

Despite his lingering concern for his fiancé, Hiccup was having the time of his life. He was catching up on twenty years' worth of missing memories, talking nearly non-stop to his mother as she showed him and Toothless around the nest. Sure, his mother still sort of acted like a dragon now and then; and sure, she occassionally looked at him or talked to him like she was seeing the baby he'd been and not the adult he was, but he could tell she was really trying, and he appreciated it.

There was so much to talk about; Hiccup didn't know where to start, he wanted to tell her everything at once. They took it in turns to describe what they'd learned about dragons to each other – for whilst Valka's knowledge of their secrets was vast, gathered over twenty years of living amongst them, Hiccup had the advantage of being heart bound to Toothless, and had learned many things directly from dragons themselves.

"…If you get them to focus on your hand, and then he turn it like _this,_ you can hypnotise them into relaxing…it takes a bit of practice…"

"…So then we found out that it made this really strong metal, and if they eat coal as well it gets even stronger and purer…"

"…Yes, there are quite a few Sharp Class dragons here. Raincutters, the odd Windstriker, Thornridges…"

"…Night Furies have their own origin myth where they hatched from the moon and turned black because of the sun…"

At some point the conversation turned to Hiccup's sword, Inferno. "You use Monstrous Nightmare saliva?" his mother asked curiously as she examined the weapon. Then she sighed and said "I wish we had a better name for them – they're not monstrous at all".

*She hasn't met Hookfang* Toothless deadpanned from where he was lying on an overhanging ledge. Hiccup snorted and agreed, "Yeah, uh, you haven't met Hookfang yet. Heck, you haven't met his _rider_ yet. I, uh, wanna apologise in advance". He'd warned his mother that his friends – if you stretched the definition of the word – were a bit of an…odd bunch. She'd simply chuckled and reminded him _she_ was crazy, and she'd grown up on Berk with his friend's parents, so she could imagine what their children might be like.

"But yeah, I use Fire-scale saliva" he agreed, "And Twin-head; uh, Zippleback gas, sometimes. I wish there was a way to store other kinds of dragon fire, but not all dragons use flammable saliva. Hey, are there any dragons here in the nest that have flammable saliva?" he asked eagerly.

"Let's see…well, there's Cloud-Jumper" she said without thinking – a split second later she realised what she'd done, but Hiccup was already taking out a cartridge and holding it up to Cloud-Jumper with a hopeful expression. "Err, Hiccup, dear" Valka said hurriedly, "Cloud-Jumper's fire isn't like a, um, a Fire-scales…it's much more powerful".

"I'll manage" he assured her blithely, "Besides, it'll be contained to the sword. And I'm used to getting the odd burn or two".

"I really don't think this is a good idea…"

"Oh, please? I just want to see what it does. Let me try it just once".

*My fire is _very_ powerful* Cloud-Jumper informed him, in a proud sort of way…he wasn't boasting so much as being proud of what he knew to be true. *My kind has fire like Fire-spinners*.

"Hey, we've flown down one of their flaming tornados. If I could handle that, I can handle this. Come on, just a little bit of saliva" Hiccup pleaded. Cloud rolled his eyes – it almost made him glad to have no hatchlings of his own, because youngsters could be difficult – but obligingly spat a little of his flammable saliva into the cartridge. The other dragons roosting or playing in the cave around them crept closer, whistling or crooning curiously and watching Hiccup with interest. Valka bit her lip and watched with worry.

He took out the old cartridge and stuck it in his pocket, before slotting in the new one with Stormcutter saliva. Then he held the blade upright with his arm held out rod straight, braced himself and turned it on.

The result was immediate and hilarious. A huge torrent of flames shot up and billowed out from the blade, licking close enough to nearly singe his hair. "Argh!" he yelled, leaping backwards into Cloud's broad chest and dropping the blade, which clattered to the floor and kept blazing, a swirling vortex of flames. There was a pause, and then Toothless collapsed onto the ledge, his whole body shaking as he gurgled and grunted in laughter.

The other dragons soon joined in; even Valka was sniggering a bit, although more at Hiccup's scowl, which to her looked more like an adorable pout. "Oh, come on! It's not that funny – stop it!" he protested, but even _he_ was starting to laugh, "Come on, cut it out!"

Toothless leapt in a single bound to the cave floor, blew the fire out and gingerly picked the sword hilt up in his mouth, offering it to Hiccup. "Thanks" he said with a sigh, retracting the blade and replacing it on his hip.

"Okay, new rule" Valka decided, chuckling, "No playing with fire".

* * *

Hours later, Hiccup and Toothless were in the meadow at the heart of the Ice Nest. Valka and Cloud-Jumper were elsewhere, and the two of them were just relaxing together. *Hiccup?* Toothless asked, nudging him a bit.

"Yeah?" his brother asked in turn, without opening his eyes.

*Are you happy we found your mother?*

"That's a pretty odd question. Of course I am" Hiccup replied, "I mean, yeah, it was awkward at first…but I like the idea of having a mom. Even if she _is_ completely nuts" he added jokingly. Yet something occurred to him, and he asked, "Are _you_ happy? I know you had your own mom; I don't want you to think that mine is a, a replacement, or"-

*I know* Toothless assured him, *I still miss my real mother, but she's gone now. I'm happy to have a new one…even if it isn't the same*.

Hiccup smiled wistfully and ran a hand over his best friend's scaly head. A muffled thump and the _chink_ of shifting pebbles made Toothless' ear-fins prick up, and Hiccup freeze. They both looked towards the tunnel that led deeper into the caves…something was coming down it, and Toothless got the feeling they were being stalked. He tensed and rose to his feet, dislodging Hiccup in the process. "What's wrong?" the young man murmured, rising to his feet and looking from Toothless to the tunnel and back.

*Not sure…I feel like we're being stalked*.

"Should we run?" he whispered.

Toothless glanced at him and purred _amusement,_ eyes shining with mischief. *No* he replied. Dragons often stalked each other in play, but _this_ dragon was too loud and wouldn't startle Toothless-Hiccup from _their_ patch! So they stood their ground, listening as whatever-it-was came nearer and nearer…

Then the black dragon's keen hearing picked up the lopsided _thump, tap, thump, tap_ he associated with Gobber, and Hiccup heard a noise that sounded suspiciously familiar, like a muffled oath… "Wait a second…" he frowned, taking a few steps towards the tunnel, frowning suspiciously.

At last, their would-be 'stalker' emerged into the light. " _Dad_?" Hiccup exclaimed incredulously; Toothless relaxed his tense, ready stance and hooded his eyelids in disinterest.

"Hiccup!" his father cried, happy to see him, "There you are!" He wrapped his beefy arms around Hiccup and hugged the younger man tightly, briefly cutting off his oxygen supply. When Stoick let him go, Hiccup rubbed his chest and demanded, "How'd you get in here?" Even as he said it he remembered; he'd asked as many dragons as possible to spread the word, if any humans came here riding dragons, let them land, they're not threats.

"Wait, no, what are you _doing_ here?" he demanded instead, before Stoick could answer his first question, "I thought you were back on Berk!"

"I told you…he wouldn't…be happy" Gobber panted as he caught up with them. He really wasn't built for climbing through rocky tunnels… "Sorry, lad" he said apologetically, leaning against the stone, "I tried to tell him…"

Hiccup frowned. "You followed me. Why? Dad, you said you trusted me" he protested. Toothless didn't make any sound at all; he simply glared.

"I _do_ trust you" Stoick assured him, hands on his shoulders, "I just don't trust anyone else _with_ you".

*What about me?* Toothless wondered, with an indignant snort. Hiccup had to agree. "Not even Toothless? Dad, we're heart bound. He'd never let anything happen to me".

"That's what I said" Gobber agreed with him, "And what _he_ said was…err, why don't you take this one, chief?" he added, when Stoick shot him a slight glare.

Stoick sighed, and explained, "I know that Toothless protects you – I'm trying to protect you both, _because_ you're heart bound".

Now it was Hiccup's turn to sigh. He was a bit annoyed that his father hadn't at least waited more than a day or so before tailing him…but on the other hand, he could see the man's reasoning, and if he could forgive his mother for her unintentional abandonment, he could forgive his dad for this. "I understand…but if you're still following me in, say, five years, then we're gonna have a problem".

"I might not even be around in five years".

"Don't say that" – suddenly, Hiccup realised, and had to resist the urge to grin. "Uh, the good news is, I found the dragon thief".

"Really?" asked Gobber, "Was he what you expected?"

"She, actually. And…no, she wasn't, but I _really_ think you ought to meet her, dad".

"Why?"

"It's a surprise".

"Oh, Odin help us…"

"Oh, ha, ha" Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Unlike most surprises I spring on you, this is one you'll like. You just have to handle it…delicately, y'know? This is kind of a…huge deal".

"Alright, lead the way" Stoick decided, gesturing. So Hiccup headed down the tunnel, followed by Toothless, his father and a groaning Gobber. *I don't think Stoick does 'delicate* Toothless snorted. Hiccup flicked his ear-fin in retaliation. *Do you know where she is?" he asked next, pushing Hiccup up a ridge and scrambling over it himself. *You don't have any idea, do you?*

Hiccup shot him a 'you're-not-helping' look. "Can't _you_ find her?" he asked in a whisper. Toothless rolled his eyes in exasperation and put his snout to the ground, trying to pick up the scent of Hiccup's…of their mother. It did no real good – the stone was thick with the scent of dragon and human, and his nose didn't pick out scents as well as, say, a Rumblehorns. His ear-fins twitched erect, trying to pick up a sound that would give him some clue. There were too many scents here, too many sounds!

"Do you even know where this dragon thief is?" Stoick demanded, panting slightly. He prided himself on staying in good shape, but he was getting winded, trudging through all these tunnels. "This place is like a labyrinth".

"Uh...yeah, course" Hiccup hedged, "I know where she might be".

" _Might_ be? Hiccup, if you're having me on…"

"I'm not! Look, your dragons are down here, right? We'll get them first and then I'll find a shortcut to where she is".

*I don't think you need to* said Toothless, who had moved past Hiccup and was staring into a larger cavern. Hiccup hurried to catch up, skidding a little on the smooth stone, and saw that he was right. Smiling, he beckoned to his father, and then he and Toothless walked into the cave. Stoick heard Hiccup say, "You might want to see this" as he reached the mouth of the cave…

Then he walked inside, and stopped in the entrance, staring. There in front of a glacial wall, clad in rough armour and furs, stood a woman he'd never thought he'd see again. Hiccup and Toothless stood to one side, watching with eagerness and nervousness, but Stoick could only see _her._

Valka stared at him too, with just a tiny bit of fear in her eyes. She knew Hiccup wanted her to come home with him, and she'd thought she was ready to see Stoick again...but she didn't feel ready. Gobber caught up and stepped out from behind Stoick, saw her, and his jaw dropped. He pointed at her but looked at Hiccup, who smiled and nodded.

"I know what you're going to say, Stoick" she told him solemnly, trying not to back away as he began to walk towards her, "How could I have done this? Stayed away all these years and why didn't I come back to you? To our son? Well, what sign did I have that you could change, Stoick? That anyone on Berk could? I pleaded so many times to stop the fighting, to find another answer, but did any of you listen?"

"This is why I never married" Gobber muttered, "This, and one other reason" he confessed. Hiccup gave him an odd look; Toothless ignored him.

"I know that I left you to raise Hiccup alone" Valka continued as Stoick continued to walk forwards, "but I thought he'd be better off without me. And I was wrong, I see that now, he helped me see that… oh stop being so _stoic_ , Stoick. Go on….shout, scream, _say_ something!" she cried as he reached her, and she was backed up against the ice with nowhere to run to.

Tenderly, Stoick cupped her face in his hand, and whispered, "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you..."

Her eyes fluttered closed, and her grip on her staff loosened, as Stoick ducked his head and pressed his lips to hers. As his parents shared their first kiss in twenty years, Hiccup looked at Toothless and smiled, and Toothless purred, and they both felt very pleased with themselves.

* * *

They ended up in Valka's cave, which was big enough for all the dragons to fit with room to spare. "Mom, you'd never even recognize it" said Hiccup, rambling about all the great changes to Berk, "where we used to make weapons, we now build saddles, wing slings, we even fix dragon teeth. You wouldn't believe how much everything's changed".

"Our son's changed Berk for the better" Stoick agreed, "I think we did well with this one, Val".

"Thanks, dad" Hiccup smiled, touched. Valka smiled as well, but gasped as she stumbled and the fish 'kebabs' she was carrying slipped to the floor. Toothless lunged at the food – he was starving, and it wasn't like the humans would eat it now – but Cloud-Jumper beat him to it. The larger dragon took note of his pleading expression, took pity and hacked some of the fish back up. Toothless smiled and slurped it up, ignoring Hiccup's teasing scolds to remember his manners and that he was being gross.

"I'm a…little out of practice" Valka admitted sheepishly.

"Well, you know… I didn't marry you for your cooking" Stoick reminded her gently.

"I hope not; her meatballs could kill more beasts than a battle axe" Gobber remarked half-jokingly to Grump, who was either asleep or about to be. "I've still got a few knocking around in here" he chuckled, patting his belly.

"You're really going to love the new Berk" Hiccup smiled confidently, "And once you come here with all your dragons, Drago won't stand a chance. Everything's going to be okay!"

He started to notice then that his mother didn't seem quite as enthusiastic. "Slow down, son", Stoick cautioned, "It's a lot to take in".

"Oh, yeah…"

Valka stood by a trickle of meltwater, filling a container. Stoick hesitated, wondering how he could get through to her, let her know she was truly forgiven…and then it came to him.

He whistled the first few bars of a Viking courting song, _their_ song, and heard her gasp in recognition.

"Oh, I love this one" Gobber smiled dreamily as Hiccup sat down beside him.

"Remember our song, Val?" Stoick asked hopefully, coming closer to her and beginning to sing, " _I'll swim and sail on savage seas…with ne'er a fear of drowning. And gladly ride the waves of life…if you would marry me. No scorching sun, nor freezing cold, will_ "-

" _Will stop me on my journey_!" Gobber sang loudly – Stoick and Hiccup glared at him, and several of the dragons growled. "Sorry!"

" _If you will promise me your heart, and love…_ " he trailed off, hoping Valka would pick up where he left off, "… _and love…_ "

He sighed, about to move aside and let her be, when Valka hesitantly began to sing, her voice a little raspy. " _And love me for eternity...my dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me…but I've no need for mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me_ " she sang, her voice gaining confidence as she danced with her husband.

" _But I would bring you rings of gold_ " Stoick sang the next verse, his eyes bright, " _I'd even sing you poetry_!"

"Oh, would you?" Valka chuckled.

" _And I would keep you from all harm! If you would stay beside me!_ "

" _I have no need for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry_ " Valka sang, laughing, _"I only want your hand to hold"-_

" _I only want you near me_!"

" _To love, to kiss, to sweetly hold"_ they sang together, " _For the dancing and the dreaming, through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your love inside me. I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me_!"

" _Meeee – I'm still goooing!"_ Gobber sang, until Hiccup elbowed him, "I'm done".

"I thought I'd have to die before we had that dance again" Stoick said lovingly, holding Valka's hands. Hiccup looked between his parents looked between his parents, one arm around Toothless' neck, and smiled happily.

"No need for drastic measures" she replied, blushing a bit at the adoration in his eyes. She'd forgotten how tenderly he used to gaze at her…

"For you, my dear, anything" Stoick promised her, before asking, "Will you come home, Val? Will you be my wife again?" he asked, gesturing Hiccup and Toothless closer, "We can be a family again!"

Valka's gaze slid from her husband's hopeful smile, to the encouraging gleam in her sons, both human and dragon, eyes. "Yes" she answered, without hesitation.

"Great!" Gobber said cheerfully, before bluntly announcing, "I'll do the cooking".

Stoick beamed and pulled both her and Hiccup in for a hug. Toothless insistently pushed his snout in between them, wriggling his way into the family hug until they gave him some room. "Oh, this is so great!" Hiccup grinned happily, "Talk about a lucky break, eh bud? It's sure gonna be crowded back home, with you, me, mum, dad and"- his eyes widened and he gasped, "Astrid!"

"Aye, I was wondering where the lass was" Gobber admitted.

"I thought she was just somewhere else in this ruddy big dragon's nest" Stoick remarked, "It's…quite a place you've got here".

"No, no, she went to find the others" Hiccup explained, "I thought she'd have been back by now. I know, I said I'd stay with her, but mom was here and I wanted to spend time with her, and it would have just been awkward if we'd both gone with her…err, no offence" he added sheepishly.

"Oh, none taken, dear".

"Well, let's go find them" Stoick said decisively. He and Valka went to their dragons – Toothless, as ever, was right by Hiccup's side.

Gobber said "Right, yes! You three go on, I'll stay here and hold down the fort!"

They all stared at him. "Your dragon's fallen asleep again, hasn't he?" Stoick asked, only it wasn't really a question.

The old blacksmith sighed and replied, "'Fraid so, useless lump. Look, really, you guys go on. I'd just slow yer down. You go and find your girl, lad" he told Hiccup, clapping the young man on the shoulder. Hiccup nodded determinedly; he would find Astrid, they would gather up all the dragons and go back to Berk and await the arrival of Drago's army. Everything would be fine…or so he hoped.


	9. It's Always Darkest

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'Things we Lost in the Fire' (Bastille) and 'Faded' (Alan Walker).

Chapter Eight – It's Always Darkest…

Toothless, Skull-Crusher and Cloud-Jumper were flying as swiftly as they could, following the faint traces of Astrid and Stormfly's scent trail. Hiccup was mentally kicking himself for getting distracted, for not going to look for his fiancé sooner. He'd told himself she could take care of herself, and that was true, but she was also trying to keep an eye on three of the biggest magnets for trouble on Berk. He should have been there for her – what kind of fiancé was he?

*We'll find them* Toothless assured him, and then he spotted something in the distance. *Is that a dragon?*

It was indeed, and not just any dragon. Toothless raced forwards to catch up with it; the Spike-tail slowed down and the two dragons hovered opposite each other, close enough to talk to his rider. "Sky Fire?" asked Hiccup, frowning in worried bewilderment, "Where's Astrid, is she alright?"

*She and Stormfly were okay when I left* he replied.

"You left?! Why?"

*She told me to. She told me to come back and tell you that they were going to Drago's army* Sky Fire explained. Hiccup and Toothless' eyes widened, and they both exclaimed "*They're going _where_?!*"

"What's going on?" asked Stoick, he and Valka having caught up just in time to hear Hiccup's alarmed exclamation.

"Isn't this the Nadder you sent with Astrid?" asked Valka, recognising Sky Fire. He chirped in happy recognition of her and Cloud-Jumper, acknowledging them as protectors higher in the hierarchy of the nest than he was. Why, together they were practically Alpha's second-in-command.

"Yeah – he says Astrid and the others went to find Drago" Hiccup informed him. His parents were shocked as well, afraid in one case and angry in the other.

"I warned them! I warned all of you, doesn't anyone ever _listen_?!" Stoick demanded furiously.

Unable to believe her ears, Valka asked, "Does he know why?"

"Sky Fire?"

*They wanted to see how well armed it was, and how far from your island. It wasn't your mate's idea* Sky Fire told Hiccup, *It was the Rock-tail's rider's idea*.

"Seriously?" asked Hiccup incredulously; he looked back over to his parents and revealed, "They're trying to scout his army out – and Sky Fire says it was _Fishleg's_ idea. Are you sure it was the guy on the Gronckle, Sky, cos I find that pretty hard to believe".

*It's true* Sky Fire insisted with a petulant chitter, before admitting *But the Fire-scale's rider did suggest it first. He wanted to attack them*.

*Now _that_ makes more sense* Toothless decided, satisfied.

"You're telling me" Hiccup muttered, before translating Sky's message for Stoick and Valka, and deducing what must have been going on. "Astrid must be going along with it so that they don't try to go off and scout Drago's fleet, or worse, by themselves".

"Well, at least there's little chance of them finding the army" Stoick declared firmly. Sky Fire proceeded to burst his bubble, explaining to Toothless-Hiccup that Astrid and Stormfly kidnapped a human from a boat and dropped him to make him tell them where the fleet was.

"Can you show us which way they went?" Hiccup asked urgently. Sky Fire proceeded to wheel about and fly to intercept them – the other three dragons swiftly followed. Hiccup called over to his father, "Hey, dad? When I'm chief, can I banish Snotlout? Y'know, just temporarily" he suggested, half-joking.

"It doesn't have to be temporary, son".

* * *

With Sky Fire's help they caught up with the others quite quickly; but alas, not quickly enough. Astrid and the others flew right into Drago's lair, his fleet hidden between towering icebergs…rather familiar looking spikes, Astrid noticed with a brief shudder. An awful thought crossed her mind but she quickly dismissed it. Crouching low on Stormfly's back, she murmured in her dragons' ear. "Stay alert, Stormfly; and keep hold of Eret" she instructed. Stormfly gave a small chirrup of acknowledgement.

They landed in a cave formed by the ice, scales brushing against snow and breath steaming. Stormfly dropped Eret from her claws in the snow; he scrambled to his feet and tried to run, but she immediately pinned him down again, sitting on top of him. "Aargh!" he groaned, struggling futilely under her weight. "Okay! Look, I got you here, now get this thing off me!" he demanded of Astrid, walking almost nonchalantly in front of him.

"She's only doing what I asked her to" Astrid replied lightly, "And besides, you never take a toy from a dragon. Don't you know anything?"

With their dragons left on guard, Astrid and the others made their way as quietly as possible – she'd death glared at the twins to ensure they wouldn't make a spectacle out of it – up a snow covered slope to peer over it at the armada of their enemy. At a glance they could tell that this was not the entire fleet – at least six huge vessels were in front of them, lined with net and chain catapults, the wide decks housing strange metal domes with a jagged line down the middle. They were unfamiliar, but they were obviously traps.

Every ship was outfitted with more dragon proof artillery than they had ever seen before, and the sides of the ship were plated with metal, yet still somehow stayed afloat. These weren't ships – they were dragon proof fortresses, and yet there were dragons on board, wearing armour and shambling along. They weren't trying to escape even though there was nothing stopping them from leaving; it was as if they had resigned themselves to their fates or been conditioned to obey, like the Catastrophic Quakens from a few years back who had obeyed their captors without question.

In the centre, in the ocean amidst all the ships, something lurked beneath the water. The only sign of its existence were the large, frothing bubbles that emerged in a spray of white foam as it breathed, and the chain that led down towards it. Fishlegs tugged out his dragon cards from his fanny pack and began trying to catalogue what creature it could be, assuming it was some kind of dragon. "Large diameter bubbles…massive lungs" he murmured, mostly to himself, "Cold water deep dweller… I'm thinking class five leviathan, maybe six…"

The word _leviathan_ sent a shudder running down Astrid's spine, as that brief disturbing thought from earlier invaded her mind once more. In the span of seconds she put everything together – the spiky glacier, the creature beneath the water, the way the armoured dragons _weren't leaving_ – and grabbed Fishlegs arm, cutting off his muttered analysis with a squeak. "We're going" she hissed, in a tone that brooked no disagreement.

She didn't hear Hookfang exclaim *Humans!*, but they all heard his alarm roar, and Stormfly's, and they all turned and scrambled back down the slope. Stormfly escaped, forgetting in her haste to snatch Eret with her, but the other dragons were brought down by darts fired by humans disguised with white bear skins. Whatever was in the darts felled them almost instantly, and they collapsed despite their riders alarmed outcries to wake up, that they had to escape.

They all pulled out weapons, even Eret, glaring at the men who ran to surround them and speak in a foreign, unfamiliar tongue. Eret understood a bit of it and replied in kind, protesting, but was ignored. Of course he and the riders put up a good fight – the Vikings in the group weren't in the habit of just standing there and letting themselves be captured – but then a few of the armoured dragons came to the aid of the _hunters,_ backing them up and rendering any attempt to escape or fight almost pointless.

Astrid prayed that Stormfly would get away and fetch Hiccup and Valka, as they were taken prisoner and led aboard the largest vessel, the flagship of the fleet, the one chained to the _thing_ deep in the water. A man came forwards, glaring at them. His face was hewn roughly from unfeeling stone, with ugly scars, his long hair braided strange and thick. In his right hand he gripped a long bullhook, his left concealed beneath a rough, dark cloak.

On board, Eret struggled against the men pushing him along with spears, and addressed a man who truly terrified him as if the warlord was an old friend. "Drago!" he exclaimed almost jovially, before yanking himself away from his captors. "Get off me!" he glared at them.

Drago glared at him. "Ha-ha, always great to see you, my friend! Keeping warm up here? Well, as you can see, I'm here right on time with a new batch of dragons, just like I promised" Eret said rather smarmily. Normally, he wasn't the boot-kissing type, but with a man like Drago Bludvist one had to make exceptions, lest one lose their head.

Hookfang stirred – he hadn't gotten as much of a dose as the others, some of the darts had missed. He snarled at the feeling of ropes around his neck and shook his head, to clear away the sleep. He could hear humans shouting – "Watch out! He's waking up! Keep him steady!" – "Give me some backup here!" – Watch out!"

He growled in annoyance, shaking his head and serpentine neck to dislodge the humans pulling at him, trying to keep him pinned down. To his slight surprise, the ropes slackened when one human ordered, without even raising his voice, "Drop the ropes".

Then said human strode slowly towards the irritable dragon – Hookfang _hated_ being woken from naps, even unintentional ones –, bellowing and swinging his long metal spiked stick. His voice was _angry threatening_ and with his body he shouted _submit!_

Hookfang stared at him, eyes narrowed…and then looked away, ignoring him. Drago stopped, scowling furiously – why wasn't the beast submitting, why wasn't it paying attention? He roared at it louder, thumping his staff against the deck with a bang that made everyone who wasn't expecting it flinch. Still the Monstrous Nightmare refused to look at him, making a big show of feigning a yawn and acting bored.

Dragons were not in the habit of showing their true intelligence to humans. Partly because many of them held humans in disdain – as small, scale-less, loud pests who would be dust long before the dragon was – but mostly because they had no idea how to. How were they supposed to know, after all, what would make a human see them differently? Their thought-speak could not be understood, their body language with wings and tails was too different in many ways; they could mimic some human body language and humans (if they tried hard) could mimic theirs, but it still wasn't the same.

So Hiccup had suggested a few ways to help dragons communicate with humans. Things as simple as answering direct questions with a nod or shake of the head, or asking for permission when they wanted to play with something or burn it because things were better on fire, or showing they weren't afraid not with flaring wings and fiery breath, but by acting as if whatever was trying to scare them was small and uninteresting and not worth the trouble.

This was the strategy Hookfang was using, and he succeeded in making Drago very frustrated. He did not, unfortunately, succeed in making the irate warlord give up. The staff came up and swung, and caught him on the jaw. Enraged, Hookfang spat a gout of flame at the wretched human who dared to strike him, pride bruised more than his scales. Drago swiftly whipped his black cloak around and shielded himself; when he dropped it the cloak was barely singed and he remained unharmed.

"Hookfang!" cried Snotlout, struggling as his dragon gathered himself for another blast only to be caught on the horns by Drago's awful staff, his roar choked off into a whine of pain as his head was dragged lower. Drago pressed a boot to his muzzle and glared into his bulbous yellow eyes, and growled, "You belong to _me_ now".

Arrogant as he was, Hookfang wasn't stupid – he knew when he was up against a superior foe. He clenched his jaw to keep a submissive whimper from escaping, but he didn't raise his head again, even when Drago turned away from him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught his rider staring at him, looking apologetic; and blinked slowly, a brief and rare gesture of affection, acknowledgment that it wasn't Snotlout's fault.

"Yes, you sure showed him" Eret agreed, pandering to Drago in the hopes of keeping his neck attached to his shoulders, or not hanging from the mainsail, or however he'd be killed. "And, as an added bonus…I also caught you their riders, no extra charge" he added. In his mind he shouted at his conscience, which was telling him to be honourable and not sell them out, to kindly shut up.

Astrid and her friends stared at him, disgusted. "Are you kidding me?" their ringleader demanded, blond hair flying as she turned from eyeing Drago warily to glaring at him in a blink. She wasn't altogether surprised but boy was she ever mad.

"Aw, but you were so perfect!" Ruffnut complains nasally. Eret suppressed a shudder – there was something seriously wrong with that creepy girl – and kept talking. _It's nothing personal_ he told himself, _I'm just trying to save my own skin._

"Turns out, there's a whole bunch of them out there. They"-

His words were cut off with a choke – so much for saving his neck – as Drago grabbed him and practically lifted him off the ground. "How many?" he snarled. Eret gargled; Drago released his grip just slightly and demanded once more, this time in a shout, " _How many?!_ "

"Hundreds!" Astrid suddenly exclaimed, "A whole island full!"

The others stared at her as if she'd lost her mind – perhaps she had. Coming here had been a mistake, a foolish errand with a hefty price…and in her panic she tried to intimidate Drago, to show him they weren't afraid and would fight him to the last. They would get their dragons back and escape and then they'd come after him and his army, she swore it.

"I wouldn't worry about it" Eret said hoarsely, "My men are hunting them down as we speak" he lied, his hapless crew were probably adrift in the ocean and he'd never see them again… "They won't know where you're hiding, I promise you that".

"Oh yes, they will!" Astrid blustered on. Drago dropped Eret to the floor – the man wheezed and coughed. "They know we're out here and they have tracking dragons. If you so much as touch us, Hiccup is gonna kick"-

" _Hiccup_?" repeated Drago, incredulous.

"He's not a problem, really. Trust me" Eret insisted, making exaggerated 'shut up now' gestures at Astrid that either went unnoticed or ignored.

Astrid stalked towards Drago, doing her best to look brave and intimidating even with her hands bound behind her back. "He's only the son of Stoick the Vast…the heir to our chieftain…and the greatest Dragon Master this world has ever seen!"

"Dragon Master?" Drago glared at her furiously and shouted, "I _alone_ control the dragons!"

The other riders scoffed and shook their heads, siding with Astrid on this one.

"Nope, uh-uh" Tuffnut shook his head.

"Sorry!" added Fishlegs.

"Does the name Hauke of the Blood Bone tribe mean anything to you? Because he tried to kill Hiccup, and Hiccup killed him instead…And unless you let us go, _right now_ , he will blast through here on his Night Fury and blow your entire fleet of ships to splinters!" Astrid declared with confidence she didn't truly feel. Unbeknownst to her, or indeed to Drago, Hiccup and his parents (as well as Sky Fire) had caught up with them by then, and were hidden on a ridge watching the whole thing, trying to come up with a plan.

"Then they'll be crying like babies!" Ruffnut jeered, only to pull a face when Snotlout tried to flirt with her.

"Funny, _and_ beautiful; good one, babe".

"Yeah, like babies" Tuffnut snorted, "They always cry. Real tiny ones…"

Drago lost patience and seized Eret again, this time by the front of his shirt. "First there was one rider" he snarled, all but spitting in the man's face, "And now all of Berk, and you _led them to me_!" he shouted, throwing Eret across the deck.

"Drago!" Eret tried to protest, but the mad warlord wasn't listening.

"STOP ALL PREPARATIONS!" he bellowed, "WE MUST ATTACK THE DRAGON RIDER'S NEST AT ONCE!" The three would be rescuers could hear him, and Valka's hands tensed around her own driftwood staff. "WE WILL TAKE DOWN THEIR ALPHA, AND THEN WE WILL TAKE BERK!"

Then he pointed his staff at Eret and ordered, "Get rid of him".

"Drago, please!" the man tried to beg, scrambling to his feet. Several of Drago's soldiers threw weapons at him without a thought – and to the surprise of everyone present, not least Eret himself, a turquoise and purple Deadly Nadder leapt down and blocked the blows, whipping his tail and embedding spikes everywhere before being tranquilised. Eret stared at the dragon in disbelief – why had it saved him? He had no way of knowing that Sky Fire had taken it upon himself to save Eret so that Stormfly or Toothless or any other dragon didn't have to.

"Sky Fire!" Astrid exclaimed, dismayed – but wait, if he was here, then… "I'm warning you, Drago!" she cried out, pulling out her trump card, "Your army won't get far in taking that nest. I know about your secret weapon!"

Drago stared at her, and then he chuckled, a deep and twisted laugh that sent shivers down her spine. "Then you know that you have no hope!"

"What – what secret weapon?" Eret couldn't help but ask in bewilderment, "What are you talking about?"

"Let me show you!" Drago shouted, before striding to the bow of his flagship, climbing up and striking the chain that led down into the water, bellowing. Everyone unprepared staggered as a massive, spiky, grey and red tipped skull rose from the depths, water pouring off its scales, chains attached to manacles around its mighty tusks rattling and clanking against each other. Eret's jaw dropped. _That_ was Drago's secret weapon? No wonder he was so feared!

"So tell me, little girl" Drago said mockingly to Astrid, "Where's your great Dragon Master now?"

Before she could answer, a familiar whine filled the cavern. Hiccup and Toothless had grown tired of waiting and took it upon themselves to make a distraction. Plasma fire blasted from one side of the cave, and then the other as they circled and zigzagged back and forth. Their friends cheered, and Astrid declared triumphantly, "I told you he'd come for us!"

Drago glared at her, and then shouted up at Beast, "Bring that dragon to me! Bring all the intruders to me!"

Dragons were, to some extent, hierarchal. Alpha's and Queen's inherited the role in same-kind packs but in mixed packs, the role was earned – either through conquest or through protection. Only two kinds of dragons were known to be able to control dragons not originally part of their pack; the Red Death was one of them, and unfortunately for the would-be rescuers, so were Bewilderbeasts.

If they were closer to the Ice Nest, or if the King knew of their plight, they might have stood a fighting chance – but they weren't, and he did not, for the King could not read their minds, only shield them, and he did not know to then. Beast's mind reached out and ensnared Stormfly, Cloud-Jumper and Skull-Crusher, driving conscious thought from their heads and forcing them to blindly obey.

Toothless was too fast at first, but Stormfly obeyed the command of **COME** and despite Stoick and Valka's desperate protests, their dragons did the same. They were dragged along too and taken prisoner, struggling for all they were worth (they both threw a couple of people overboard) before being subdued with ropes and darts.

Drago was pleased to have the dragon rider who had plagued him for years within his grasp – his pride rankled somewhat when he discovered her to be a woman. And the man with her looked _very familiar…_

"You!" he exclaimed, staring at Stoick, who glared right back, "You should have burned!"

"It takes more than a little fire to kill me!" the Berk chieftain retorted, wanting nothing more than to throttle the wretch before him, "Now unbind me and fight me like a man, you coward!" he challenged, furious. He shielded Valka from view as much as he could and looked ready to charge at Drago like a bull.

Yet the bait was not risen to. Instead Drago merely signalled to his men, who levelled their weapons and crossbows at Stoick and Valka. "Well if fire doesn't kill you, perhaps steel will" he declared. Everyone's shouts of protest were drowned out by a blast of plasma fire that sent Drago's men sprawling and even made Drago himself stagger. He glared up at the night fury and its rider, the so called 'Dragon Master', whose face was covered by a masked leather helmet.

Toothless roared defiantly as he and Hiccup swooped down for another shot; they wouldn't let him harm their parents! He flew right at Drago, a plasma blast charging in his throat and mouth…

Suddenly, freezing air and chunks of deadly sharp ice blasted into their path, and Toothless panicked, releasing the blast too early. The ice melted, but the blast exploded on impact and dissipated harmlessly in the air. Then he made the mistake of looking up at Beast, and met the larger dragon's cold gaze, with slitted pupils and quivering tendrils, amplifying his telepathy and sending out the command of **OBEY, SUBMIT, OBEY!**

Immediately, it was as if a crushing weight had landed on his mind, blocking out all conscious thought. In the presence of the King, it had felt as if he was sinking into the ocean, but could still breathe. Now, he was buried under an avalanche of will; he fought it desperately, thrashing his head from side to side, distantly hearing voices shouting, feeling Hiccup on his shoulders fighting to keep them in the air…

It was no good; Beast's mind was just too strong, trying to fight it off was like holding back the tide. His wings folded without meaning to and they plummeted, crash-landing on the deck in front of everyone. It hurt – everywhere hurt, especially in his head, and he couldn't feel anything on his back, wasn't there supposed to be someone…something…on his back? Toothless briefly remembered, and his mind pushed with all its might back against Beast, but the crushing weight – **SUBMIT! OBEY! –** continued to grind him down.

Hiccup was thrown off in the crash, though not far. He scrambled to his feet and tried to get back to Toothless, to snap him out of the Alpha's control somehow – but someone grabbed him roughly by the arm. "Agh!" he cried out, struggling as his helmet was yanked off. He twisted, trying to wrest free of his captor, only to have Drago's staff slam against his chest and collarbone, knocking the wind out of him. The soldier who had first grabbed him stepped aside under Drago's glare.

"Let him go!" Valka shouted, furious and horrified. Sensing Hiccup in danger, Toothless became lucid enough to snarl and lurch forwards – but he couldn't attack Drago, his brother was too close, in the way, Drago was _using him as a human shield, the eel eating Moon be-damned coward!_

"It's okay!" Hiccup called out to Toothless, even as he struggled to push the staff off himself and get away from Drago. The man had him pinned and it made his skin crawl, and he could tell that no amount of kicking and elbowing would make the solid piece of living granite let him go. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he briefly wondered why Drago was only holding the bull-hook with one hand, but it wasn't important.

The whole tableau froze – Hiccup couldn't escape, Toothless couldn't get past the snarling mind controlled dragons Beast set on either side of Drago to defend him, nobody else would or could aid them despite the dragon riders protests. "So…" Drago said slowly, " _You_ are the great Dragon Master?"

 _Astrid, what in Odin's name did you tell him?_ Out loud Hiccup remarked as calmly as he could, "And you must be the nutcase I've heard so much about". Perhaps it wasn't the best choice of words, but it wasn't like he could make Drago any madder – in any sense of the word.

Or perhaps he could. Drago growled, and then scoffed, "You? The son of Stoick the Vast?" His voice dripped with contempt as he looked at Stoick and said cruelly, "What shame you must feel".

If Stoick frowned any more, his eyes would screw shut, and a snarl worthy of a dragon curled his lips as he bit out, "I could not be more proud of my son – now let him go!"

"You won't win" Valka declared, forcing her voice not to shake, "We'll find a way to stop you".

"NO!" Drago shouted, "You won't!" Why did everyone have to keep resisting, why couldn't they all just obey? He was superior; he was fighting for the people, fighting to rid the world of the tyranny of dragons. Heartless, cruel creatures that treated humans as if they were nothing, just fodder for fire and bloodshed – these dragon riders were no better than the beasts themselves, in his mind they'd sided with the enemy.

Toothless screeched in pain, claws digging into the wood and back arching, tail lashing, jaw clenching as Beast hammered at his will and his mind. Hiccup felt pain lance through his own skull and cried out, stretching a hand desperately towards his beloved dragon. " _Toothless_!"

 **SUBMIT!**

He could hear Beast's orders – feel them, really, as if he was being given an order he couldn't refuse. Unlike a dragon however, he could refuse it, and he wished whole-heartedly that he and Toothless' mental bond was stronger, that he could help shield his other half from the onslaught. Hiccup, his parents and his friends and Eret could only watch in horror as Toothless writhed and panted…and finally froze, opening his eyes, pupils slitted so far they were simply sharp lines.

 _No, Toothless…no!_

"No dragon can resist the command of a Bewilderbeast" Drago declared, but he still wasn't satisfied, "So he who controls the Alpha of dragons… controls them all". He looked over his shoulder at Beast and yelled wordlessly.

 **KILL** Beast ordered. He knew that signal from his Master, and from habit he obeyed.

"No!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless' jaw gaped, fangs deployed, blue-lavender fire rising from his throat, sightless eyes fixated mercilessly on his…on his…

 _Other half, best friend…_ He remembered, and his mouth snapped shut as he flinched away, refusal and revulsion shuddering their way down his spine, roaring _defiance._ He would not do it! He would not-

 **KILL!**

His other self! His heart bound brother! He _couldn't_!

 **KILL! OBEY!** _ **FEAR-OF-PAIN**_

His instincts to obey a superior, powerful dragon far higher than him on the hierarchy, and his instinct to protect and never harm his other half warred within him. Toothless screamed and thrashed, one minute flattening himself to the ground in submission and the next almost rearing up, wings flexing and tail lashing like a whip. It was terrible to watch but no one would or could do anything – Hiccup struggled in Drago's iron grip, reaching out to Toothless and begging him to hold on, to fight it. His parents and friends shouted insults and protests but they could not get past Drago's soldiers or armoured dragons.

"Come on, fight it! You can do it, come on!" Hiccup said desperately, frightened not by his best friend but for him. He could feel the Alpha's will, an echo of it in his own mind, and he tried to push back against it but he didn't really know what to do and he might as well have been a bird pecking at a mountain. Toothless' desperate struggling nudged his snout against Hiccup's outstretched fingers; his pupils flickered from slitted to wide and scared as he begged *Help me!*

He wanted to – oh, how he wanted to. Before he could even _try_ to help, Drago's staff came up and pinned his neck instead, making him gag and choke. Blood pounded in his ears so that he could barely hear all the shouts and roars and growls, and his hands pulled back to wrestle futilely with the metal bar cold against his throat. Beast's will slammed into Toothless once more, and Toothless screamed under the weight of it, shaking his rage and fear and horror.

In all the chaos, all the confusion, nobody had kept a close eye on Eret. The man had been having some serious rethinks of his life ever since that Nadder had saved his life without prompt, and he was just as horrified as the riders when Drago turned the Night Fury on his own rider. Yet whilst everyone else merely shouted and pleaded and watched helplessly, Eret snuck away, and stole a blowpipe, loaded it and returned.

When no one was looking he took aim at the Night Fury, drew in the deepest breath he could and fired. The red feathered dart shot out sure and true, and struck the dragon in the neck. It stiffened and collapsed in a boneless heap – whatever was in the darts was extremely potent. An instant later, moments after Drago choked him, Hiccup's oxygen starved brain lost consciousness.

He too, was dropped callously to the floor. He didn't hear Astrid or his mother shouting his name, or his father swearing furiously at Drago. He didn't see his fellow prisoners being herded away from him. He didn't feel coarse hands grab him and haul him roughly away from his other half.

There was only blackness and silence, and nothingness.

* * *

Hiccup moaned weakly, struggling to lift his head on an aching neck. He could feel bruises on his arm and chest and throat, and he coughed and retched as he regained consciousness. His head pounded and he grasped it in his hands; he heard metal chinking as he moved his arms. He opened his eyes properly and realised he was chained to the wall of a cell somewhere deep within the ship, manacles clamped tight around his wrists. Flames burned in lanterns hanging on the walls – then he looked closer and realised that they were full of Firewyrms.

He was alone.

His breathing came quick and fast, and he struggled to get it under control. The pleasant, comforting warmth of the heart bind had turned to cold ice, piercing his chest and making it hard to draw breath. _MustescapefindToothlessfindhimsavehimmustescapemustfindhim –_ his instincts seemed to be telling him, and he struggled to free himself, but it was no use.

The door across from him creaked, the handle rattling. Alarmed, Hiccup scrambled to his feet, pressing back against the wall. He tried not to look afraid when Drago stepped into the cell, but he couldn't help the shiver of fear that trickled down his spine. The man was every bit as cruel and mad as his father had warned him, and Hiccup hated and feared him, even more than Hauke. "S-stay back!" he cried reflexively, raising his fists as if to punch Drago though he knew it would do no good.

Drago knew it, and merely chuckled. It sounded wrong. "Brave boy" he muttered mockingly, clearly enjoying Hiccup's fear. The twisted smile on his scarred face dropped away as he remarked, "If you're worried about your dragon, don't be. He's alive".

Hiccup knew perfectly well that Toothless was alive – after all, if he weren't, then Hiccup himself would be dead too. "If you've hurt him…" he rasped out, glaring despite his fear.

"So long as you and he obey, he'll go unharmed".

"…Why…why are you doing this?" Hiccup asked warily, "All these battles, all the destruction, and for what? To…to rule the world, be all powerful?"

"Yes" Drago replied after considering for a moment, "I want power for humans, power over the dragons who lord themselves over us".

Hiccup nearly gaped at him in disbelief – did the man not hear what he was saying? "Dragons _don't_ lord themselves over humans. Most of them don't want anything to do with humans. They are kind, loyal, amazing creatures who can bring people together" he defended.

"Or tear them apart" Drago replied, reaching a hand up and unclasping his arm – a metal prosthetic, hidden by his cloak, from his shoulder. Hiccup stared at the scarred, bitten off arm and the cloak…dragon skin, he realised, _black dragon skin…_ He sent a quick prayer of regret and apology to whichever poor Night Fury had been slain, and prayed they were not from the Myrkr nest.

"You see, I know what it is to live in fear" Drago continued, reattaching his arm, "to see my village burnt, my family taken…but even as a boy, left with _nothing_ " he spat, "I vowed to rise above the fear of dragons, and liberate the people of this world". He gestured out beyond the cell.

"Not all dragons are like that" Hiccup protested, "I know they're not. I don't know why dragons attacked your village, but if you hate them so much, why build a dragon army?"

"Well, you need dragons, to conquer other dragons" Drago replied, as if it were obvious.

"Or…or maybe you need dragons to conquer people. To control those who follow you, and get rid of those who won't".

"Speaking of which…what did you do to the Night Fury?" Drago questioned, "How did you get the beast under your sway?"

"He's loyal to me" Hiccup replied at last, "He _cares about me_ ". He knew it was pointless but he was desperate… "Dragons and humans…we're more alike than you think. Peace is possible, I've made it happen. I can _show you…_ "

"No!" Drago snapped, "You should see by now, you have nothing, you _are_ nothing. Oh, but please, oh great Dragon Master…try to stop me" he offered with a mocking bow. He turned to leave, saying as he went, "The Night Fury _will_ fire next time".

" _He won't_ " Hiccup declared, with enough confidence that it gave Drago pause. Desperate, Hiccup kept talking. "You need me; you need me alive. My dragon can't fly on his own, I'm the only one who knows how to help him fly properly" he lied.

Drago turned to face him once more. "Your Bewilderbeast can control him all he wants, but it won't do you any good if he can't get in the air. Just let my parents and friends go free, and let me stay with Toothless" Hiccup begged. If he had to pretend to join Drago's army to get back to his other half and make himself whole, then he was willing to do whatever it took.

The intimidating man strode towards him, gripped him by the shoulders and pulled him almost off his feet. "I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to my village, and neither will you" he threatened, "I will keep your dragon, and you, and I _will_ break you in…you both belong to _me,_ now" he whispered, his breath hot and stale.

Then he dropped Hiccup and strode out of the cell, slamming the door behind him. Hiccup sank to the ground, shaking all over. Tears sprang to his eyes and he brushed them away at first, but then allowed them to fall. He felt like the pathetic child Drago saw him as but he couldn't help himself as he thought…

 _I want to go home. I want my mum and dad. I want Toothless. I need him._

Chained up in the darkness, alone and afraid, Hiccup buried his face in his hands and despaired.


	10. Before the Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter is 'Faded' (Alan Walker) and 'Without You' (My Darkest Days - recommended by 'dracologistmaster').

Chapter Nine – Before the Dawn

Darkness...it was very dark, but that did not bother him. His kind were creatures of the day _and_ the night, but the night more so. He could see perfectly well in the faint light that seeped in a jagged line through the teeth of the metal jaws that held him within their grasp.

He was chained, and that bothered him more. Thick metal rings encircled his legs, his wings were pinned uncomfortably by an arch, and leather was wrapped tightly around his jaws, keeping them closed. It was uncomfortable, but the thinner, lighter rings around his shoulders, and the leather on his back and the thin cables running down his sides, they were meant to be there and felt right, and familiar.

He was _alone,_ and this bothered him most of all. It was unbearable. His inner fire had turned to ice, ice that _burned,_ and he struggled against his bonds desperately, growling and whining through the muzzle in anger and fear. Over and over, his instincts, a voiceless voice in the back of his mind kept shouting _MustescapefindHiccupfindhimprotecthimmustfindhimprotecthimescapemustfindhim!_

 **CALM. OBEY.**

Toothless flinched and roared in his mind at that presence, because he couldn't roar for real even though he wanted to. He wanted to blast and tear his way free of this trap and rush through this ship and find his Hiccup and reunite them, and Moon be-damned anyone who got into his way. They were heart bound! They weren't supposed to be apart, Hiccup was _his,_ his other half, his brother to be protected at all costs!

 **CALM. OBEY.**

Once again, in his mind Toothless blasted and slashed furiously at the presence trying to invade his mind. He did not _want_ to be calm, he did not want to obey! He would resist forever!

This alpha, this…Usurper was the reason he…he had nearly…the thought made Toothless feel sick, like he'd accidentally eaten something not-to-eat. After _Her,_ he never wanted to be controlled like that again, but not only had Usurper taken over him like _She_ had, he had turned Toothless on his own other half! He couldn't believe he'd almost…

 **OBEY. CALM.** _ **NO THREAT.**_

No threat? No threat?! Yes, Usurper was a threat to him, and he was a threat to Usurper! When he escaped, he and Hiccup would defeat Usurper just like they'd defeated _Her,_ and they'd defeat Drago, and they would save everyone. Toothless clung to hope that _Hiccup_ would come for him; Hiccup was so clever, and he could sneak through the ship and find him, surely he would know where to look, and he'd come for Toothless. He always came.

Yet Usurper kept pushing at his mind, and Toothless pushed back and resisted as much as he could, but it was _so hard._ One instinct was telling him _higher rank, submit, submit, submit!_

Another instinct was telling him _find your other half! Find him, find him, find him!_

Only he _couldn't_ find his other half, because he couldn't escape no matter how hard he tried. He was so tired. His chest and neck and foreleg felt like they'd been bruised and he knew it was because his other half was bruised. He wanted to rest but he couldn't, he had to keep fighting because he didn't want to nearly harm his other half again! *STOP!* he screamed, the sound muffled by the leather around his jaws, *LEAVE ME ALONE! I WON'T OBEY! I WON'T HURT MY OTHER HALF!*

 _ **DISBELIEF**_ **. IMPOSSIBLE. HUMAN.**

*That doesn't _matter!_ He's my other half! I won't hurt him! You can't make me!* Toothless snarled and yowled and whined through the muzzle, straining pointlessly to break free…but then his strength left him and he collapsed onto the cold metal, panting, wings twitching painfully with un-stretched aches.

 **OBEY.** _ **FEAR-OF-PAIN.**_

Toothless was not afraid of pain…but he was _so tired._ *I can't….won't….mustn't…* _Must…_

 _Find…._

 _I'm…sorry…_

With ice in his mind and ice in his veins, Toothless lay in the dark and was calm. He had no choice.

* * *

The dragon riders, and Eret as punishment for throwing his lot in with them, were dragged up to the stern of the ship to be made to walk the plank. Tears pricked at Astrid's eyes that she stubbornly blinked away.

This whole sorry mess was her fault, all of it. The guilt twisted and coiled like spiny snakes in her stomach and chest, painful and biting. If she had just put her foot down and refused to entertain the other's wild notions of 'scouting out the enemy', if she had kept her big mouth shut instead of goading a man who was obviously not to be trifled with…now her fiancé was a prisoner, separated from Toothless, and she was about to die.

Little did she know that the others felt just as guilty, just as responsible…what fools they were! Made arrogant and complacent by their victories, over-confidence seeping from memories of past exploits and mishaps corrected. They weren't supposed to be captured. It wasn't supposed to end like this! Stoick and Valka had been outraged and distraught when Drago so cruelly turned Toothless on Hiccup, and now they dreaded to think what the madman wanted with their sons.

"Could this day get any worse?" Snotlout muttered to no-one in particular; but he still flinched and looked apologetic when Astrid shot him a death glare.

Oblivious as ever, Tuffnut missed the _shut up before I make you_ glare Astrid was giving Snotlout and replied, "Uh, let me see. You'll jump into freezing cold water and then die from drowning".

Eret was already on the plank, Astrid just behind him. "Looks refreshing" he said blithely, eyeing the frothing, icy waters below. He turned and remarked to Astrid, "Please, ladies first".

Astrid glared at him through her tears and all but growled, "You are a _steaming heap of dragon_ "-

" _Duck_!" he ordered. Instinctively she obeyed – growing up in a village like Berk, when someone said 'duck', you _ducked._ He swept his foot over her and high kicked one of the soldiers pushing her forwards, disarming him and deftly catching the spear that was flung into the air with his bound hands. He quickly freed himself, snatched a blowpipe from one soldier as another rushed to raise the alarm – "Warn the others!" one of them cried.

"Get him, you son of an Eret!" Ruffnut crowed.

Eret proceeded to lay an absolute smack down on Drago's men, knocking them out with the spears, shooting one in the _mouth_ with the blowpipe – Fishlegs actually full body tackled one of them, Stoick and Valka kicked the legs out from under their own captors and knocked them out– and then Eret fired another dart at the soldier trying to escape, knocking him out. "Okay, I love you again" Ruffnut decided. She'd been pretty bummed out when he betrayed them, but now he was back in her good books!

Eret turned to them all, and they could see in his stance and his face that he was sincere. He was on their side – he must have been crazy, but he thought he'd rather be _their_ kind of crazy rather than Drago Bludvist's kind of crazy. "Now let's go find your dragons" he said determinedly, looking Stoick and Valka in the eyes as he added, "And your son".

He quickly let them loose from their bonds. He wanted to throw the soldiers they'd knocked out overboard, so that they couldn't raise the alarm. Snotlout and the twins were all for it, Fishlegs and Astrid were reluctant…it was true, they needed to buy themselves all the time they could, but throwing unconscious people into the water to drown would be murder, and that would make them no better than Drago. They couldn't waste time arguing about it, so Stoick and Eret dragged the bodies under a tarp and jabbed them all with a final dart to make sure they stayed out of it for a long, long time.

They stole cloaks and weapons and keys from the hunters. "I know how this works" Eret told them, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we'll be safer inside the traps, with the dragons. All the traps will get opened when we get to the nest…some dragons are used as bait, and some are released to fight".

"When you find one of our dragons, even if it's not the one you ride, stay with it. We'll sort out who's riding who later" Stoick ordered. They all nodded in agreement; disobeying orders was what had gotten them into this mess in the first place.

It was fortunate for most of them that the majority of Drago's soldiers were below, making preparations for the battle. What those preparations were, they could only guess. Even so it was a harrowing experience, to sneak amongst the traps and hatches, hiding still as statues beneath heavy tarps or crouched behind crates, keeping a lookout on all sides. Their hearts thumped in their chests, and they gripped their weapons tightly, pulling stolen hoods tight and trying to blend in.

They had no idea, truly none, which traps contained their dragons. However, the traps were marked with symbols for which kind of dragon was held in each one, so they did have a minor advantage. Weapons were gripped tightly in sweating palms, one would keep a lookout whilst the other opened the traps, peeked inside to see if their dragon was there…many hatches were sadly locked again. They didn't even dare to pray, lest a certain malicious trickster decide to involve himself in their affairs.

All of them, even the _twins,_ whose awareness of danger could most charitably be described as 'null', were aware that if they were caught, any of them, it would undoubtedly spell doom for all of them and their dragons. All of them fought back the tide of fear and unease and focused on the task at hand; Ruffnut a little less, since she was pouting over being refused the chance to pair up with Eret and instead got stuck with Fishlegs…she supposed it could have been worse.

"Is anyone coming?" Fishlegs asked Ruffnut as they cranked open the trap, just enough for her to be able to peek inside.

"No, keep cranking" she whispered back, after exaggeratedly looking all around her. Once the trap was open, Fishlegs urged her to hurry and see which dragon was inside, nervously turning to keep a lookout. They were under a tarp, and there was no reason anyone would notice them…but the tarp didn't reach all the way down to the ground, and he knew his feet were visible. In his hand he gripped a club with which to knock out anyone who found them.

Ruffnut disappeared inside the trap, and Fishlegs waited anxiously, and waited…just as he was about to open it up further and climb in himself, he froze, hearing someone stomping across the deck. The hunter paid no attention to the pair of feet protruding from beneath the tarp covering one of the dragon traps. He set a crate down atop some more, besides one of the catapults so they must have been full of ballistics, and left without another thought.

Fishlegs gasped in relief, gave one last check, and then hissed into the trap, " _Ruff,_ what's _taking so long?"_

"Well, _sorry_ " she huffed, reappearing, "I just thought we were supposed to be freeing our dragons, duh!"

"We're supposed to find them and – wait. Have you found one? Who's dragon is it?" he questioned.

"Err, yours".

"My Meatlug?!" He barely kept his exclamation quiet. "Come out, help me open it wider!"

Ruffnut easily slipped through the gap with her slimmer frame, and helped him crank it open wide enough for him to squeeze through. Then she released the catch and closed the dome back up, and snuck off to find her brother, who hopefully had helped Snotlout find Hookfang or Barf&Belch or Stormfly or _any dragon._ Meanwhile Fishlegs fussed over Meatlug, who eagerly licked him, glad to be rid of the muzzle. He got to work sawing his way through the rest of the ropes holding her down, telling her everything was going to be alright.

* * *

There was no way Snotlout would ever admit it, and he'd punch anybody who brought it up…but he was so relieved when they found Hookfang. He and Tuffnut managed to hide from a pair of soldiers long enough to sneak in and open one of those metal dome traps – this was like, the fourth one they'd tried – and _finally,_ he recognised the dragon inside. "Don't worry, pal" he grinned, before telling Tuffnut, "Go find your sister – and for Thor's sake, _be careful_!"

"I know!" Tuff hissed back, hefting his weapon – she was no Macey, but the bludgeon he held would make some very nice bloodied bruises on those dumb hunter's heads. Snotlout squirmed his way into the dome, bruising his side in the process – he bit back a shouted curse and hissed it under his breath instead. Hookfang regarded him with hooded eyes, looking almost bored, as if he were saying _Well, look who decided to show up._ "Hey, don't look at me like that" Snotlout scolded, before telling Tuffnut through the hatch, "Okay, close us in…other way, you moron. Hurry!"

Once they were in the dark, Snotlout tried to feel his way around, but stubbed his toe against something instead. "Son of a- Hookfang, flame up" he ordered.

The dragon did nothing. "Seriously?" hissed Snotlout, glaring at the Nightmare's yellow eyes that reflected the little light seeping through the thin tarp and the zig-zagged crack in the dome. Of course the dragon took this as a challenge and growled, lids and pupils narrowing.

"Whoa, whoa" Snotlout put his hands up in surrender, afraid that the massive monster dragon had taken over Hookfang the way he'd taken over Toothless. That had been disturbing. On impulse he tried the thing Hiccup always did, looked over his shoulder and held his hand out to the irritated dragon. Satisfied that his human was trying to make amends, Hookfang obligingly nudged his snout against the young man's palm. Then he flamed up – he was tempted to flame up on his nose, too, but resisted the urge.

"Oh, that's much better. Thanks" Snotlout actually smiled at him. "Hey…about earlier...I think you were really tough, standing up to that creep Drago. You're one awesome dragon" he praised…before adding, "But if you mention I said that to anyone, especially Hiccup, I will deny it".

* * *

Stoick disguised himself as one of the hunters, hiding his distinctive horned helmet in the folds of the voluminous cloak – actually two cloaks, hastily and roughly tied together. Valka had grown accustomed to sneaking around dragon trapper camps, and knew how to compensate to hide someone of larger stature. The fact that the someone was normally a smallish dragon, instead of a largish human, hardly mattered in the circumstances.

She had wanted them to be the ones to find Hiccup, but that meant one of the others would have to find their dragons for them, and then find them, lead them to their dragons and find their own. It was risky enough without having more of them going back and forth through the enemy ship. It was better that Astrid and Eret found Hiccup, and then the heart bind would lead Hiccup to his dragon; or so they all hoped. It wasn't the most fool-proof plan, but it was the only one they had.

On a slightly more positive note, they managed to find their dragons in two of the larger traps, quite close to one another. Skull Crusher's keen sense of smell picked up his human's scent from beneath the cloaks, which Stoick soon threw aside. "Well, this is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into, isn't it?" he remarked, patting his dragon's scaly hide. Skull Crusher snorted in agreement. Under his breath, Stoick whispered, "Be safe, sons".

Meanwhile, Valka was reuniting with Cloud-Jumper, practically rubbing herself like a cat against his chin and jaw. "I'm scared, Cloud Jumper" she admitted, "Hiccup, Toothless….please, _please_ let them be okay" she prayed, even as she set to work freeing Cloud from his bonds.

* * *

One of the biggest concerns for the gang was this – what do we do with the twins? They had to be paired up, but if they went off with each other they were likely to get into trouble, and if they went off with someone else, at one point they might have to sneak around solo and _definitely_ get into trouble. That and their 'sleuthing skills' left a lot to be desired.

Yet for all the twin's faults, and there were a plethora of them, the wayward pair did have _one_ thing going for them. Despite how much they constantly bickered, argued and fought like wild dragons, deep down Ruff and Tuff did care about each other. Ruffnut was a little more aware of this, so she'd 'lovingly' threatened to maul her brother if he didn't meet her at a designated hiding place.

The twins were stupid, yes, but they weren't suicidal. Even _they_ could see that getting caught would be a really, really, really bad idea. So Ruffnut was legitimately scared out of her wits when she snuck around a trap and spotted a few hunters.

Fortunately, he wasn't looking at her, but she dived behind the trap again and pressed her back against it. Why was her heartbeat so fast, her breathing so loud? Shut up, lungs!

 _Please walk past me, please walk past me, please walk past me_ she begged over and over, clinging to the sword she'd brought with her. The hunters walked beside the trap she was hiding behind…and to her horror, they stopped.

One of them sniffed the air. Ruffnut could hear him. He would sniff her out and they'd torture her until she gave up where the others were – no! She was a Thorston, and a Hooligan, and they didn't break for anybody. _I'm not going down without a fight_ she thought determinedly, despite her knees shaking and her mouth drying out.

 ** _CRASH!_**

Ruffnut barely, just _barely_ stopped herself from crying out in alarm; to her relief, the men went to investigate the source of the noise, which meant they walked away from her hiding place. Then she heard a "Psst!" and looked around, spotting Tuffnut making exaggerated 'come here quick!' gestures at her from under a tarp on the other side of the deck. Her dopey brother was still alive!

She quickly checked to make sure no-one was watching, and then made a dash for it. Thankfully, the wood of the ship didn't creak and give her away; nor did she drop the sword in her haste so it clattered to the deck. As soon as they were both under the tarp…and it finally occurred to her that she could have ducked under the tarp over the first dome she hid behind…Ruffnut grabbed her brother in a crushing hug.

"Where's your weapon?" she asked when she'd finished breaking his ribs, or so it seemed like to him. Tuffnut shrugged, his characteristic 'too dumb to live' expression on his face as he gestured vaguely in the direction the hunters had gone. Ruffnut knew him, though, and she grinned. "You threw it away to distract them. I owe you one, bro".

"Yeah, well…we'll settle it later. For now, let's just hide in this trap" he decided.

"What if it doesn't have one of our dragons in it?"

"Then we'll ride a different dragon and find Barf & Belch later". They opened up the trap with some difficulty – Tuffnut even thought to use the sword they still had to wedge it open without cranking it all the way. Granted, it was only because he thought he remembered Hiccup or Gobber or somebody doing the same thing once, and Ruffnut was daydreaming slightly about the way Eret's muscles would have tensed if _he_ were here to open the trap for her.

Incredibly, whatever mysterious stroke of good fortune had kept Ruffnut concealed, and made Tuff's ploy succeed, continued to shine on them. The dragon in the trap wasn't just any dragon, or even a dragon in their 'defence party', it _was_ theirs. Needless to say, they were very glad to see the Zippleback – and the dragon, though they were curled most uncomfortably into a trap that was a bit too small for them, were happy to see their favourite amusing humans too.

* * *

Eret made his way through Drago's ship, pushing a cart that reeked of raw fish, his face covered by a cloak. The cart was also covered, for it contained not fish but a dragon rider. He and Astrid had sneaked their way through the labyrinth of passageways; they had come close to detection, but a few fast punches and an elbow drop made short work of the men who had nearly discovered them. After shoving the bodies out of sight in what looked like a darkened mess hall, they had continued on.

Then their luck had changed slightly, as they knocked out another hunter who had emerged from one room pushing an empty cart. It was large enough for two people to hide in if they scrunched up small, and Astrid had climbed in straightaway, ignoring the stench. Eret greeted every person he passed with an impatient, non-committal grunt, taking the cart down ramps and pulley lifts. Astrid peeked out at one of them and made a mental note to discuss the possibility of making some on Berk with Hiccup, after this was finally over.

Word of the human prisoner floated to Eret's straining ears, and he followed the rumours – as well as a few directions given by a few more gullible crew-members – down to the holding cells. They were a quarter of the way down one passageway, and nearly at their destination if the oppressive atmosphere was anything to go by. Then Eret heard a voice floating up behind him, that he'd been hoping with all his might he _wouldn't_ hear.

"I don't _care_ how they got away!" he heard Drago thundering, and swiftly picked up the pace, shoving the cart as fast as he could. He had to get out of the passageway before Drago came. "They can't have escaped! We're in the middle of the ocean, there's nowhere to escape _to._ Find them! Bring them to me!"

It was too late – Drago rounded the corner and strode down the passageway. His lips curled into a suspicious sneer when he noticed a cart dragged into one of the larger dragon bays, halfway down.

Eret shut the door, tried to lock it – curse it, the door only locked from the outside – heard growling behind him, and froze. Very slowly, he turned around, gulping. There were dragons in here. Three, snarling, undoubtedly hungry dragons – and he must have looked (or maybe smelled) like he was either bringing dinner, or _was_ dinner. " _Astrid!_ " he hissed, rooted to the spot.

For a moment he wasn't sure that she'd heard him; but then the cloak stretched over the cart peeled back, collapsed, and was pushed aside. The dragons chittered and rumbled _confusion_ at seeing a human emerge from the crate instead of the fish they could smell most strongly, and the hungriest one whistle-whined _disappointment._

"No threat" Astrid told the dragons, "No threat". She looked just below their eyes instead of meeting their gaze head on, lest they feel intimidated by her stare. Moving very slowly, she climbed out of the cart, keeping her shoulders down and her empty palms visible. "Don't stare" she muttered out of the corner of her mouth to Eret, "and say 'no threat'".

Swallowing the dryness from his throat, Eret looked anywhere but at the dragons eyes and quickly muttered, over and over, "No threat, no threat".

"We're trying to hide from Drago" Astrid explained, knowing they would sense her fear and wanting to assure them it wasn't _them_ she was afraid of. They heard footsteps approaching from outside and looked at one another, panicking – what if Drago came in here?

One of the dragons, an exotic one she didn't know the name of, whistled in an urgent seeming way and raised a wing, waving it at them. Eret stared in bewilderment, but Astrid picked up the hint immediately and gestured to Eret – he should stay there, she would hide. At the last minute she remembered to grab the cloak out of the cart, and walked as quickly as she could without startling the dragons. Eret was quickly realising two things – one, he was a lot less scared of dragons when there were chains or bars between him and them, and two, he was even more petrified of Drago.

The door opened; Astrid, hunkered down behind a dragon wing, watched silently and listened warily as Drago walked in and suspiciously demanded to know what the cloaked hunter was doing. Eret deepened his voice and replied in a language she didn't understand, but that he'd used to ask directions a couple of times.

"Bara fóðra dreka, herra( _Just feeding the dragons, sir_ )".

"Þeir ættu að hafa verið fóðraðir þegar ( _They should have been fed already_ )".

"Ég kláraði bara að fóðra þær ( _I was told to feed them_ )".

"Hvað heitir þú? ( _What is your name?_ )"

"Einar".

"Leyfðu mér að sjá andlit þitt ( _Let me see your face_ )".

Astrid tensed. If Drago saw Eret, they were done for…but incredibly, just as Drago was about to march over to a desperately protesting Eret to yank the cowl from his head, one of the other dragons flamed at him. He snatched up his cloak to shield himself and then turned on the razorwhip, snarling and roaring _anger, anger, submit!_

She watched with gritted teeth as he swung his staff and cowed the now trembling dragon into submission. Dragons could be a nuisance at times, but they could also be very helpful. It was supposed to be a give and take, mutual relationship, not a one-sided dominant one based on fear and intimidation.

Satisfied, Drago glared at Eret/Einar and snapped, "Get out of here". Of course, Eret had no choice but to obey. He pushed the cart back up the corridor, pretending to be sending it back up to be refilled and planning to go back for Astrid. When she was sure that Drago had gone, Astrid crept out from beneath the wing, wincing at the ache in her uncurled legs.

"Thank you" she said breathlessly, gratefully. The dragon who had sheltered her, with long curling horns, lowered his/her head (she couldn't quite tell, unfamiliar with this dragon's kind) and snuffled at her, hot smoky breath puffing in her face. A thin, forked tongue snaked out and licked her with a hopeful sort of whimper. "Sorry…I know I stink of fish, but it's empty. I wish I had some food for you" Astrid told them apologetically.

The dragons whined at her and nudged her away from the door when she tried to leave. "I have to go" she insisted, feeling sorry for them as she petted their snouts gently, "but I promise I'll find a way to get you out of here".

They weren't wearing armour; and although she didn't know what they were saying in thought-speak, they managed to explain in gestures that the dragons were set to fight each other, and they were some who had been rejected. Astrid jumped out of her skin when there was a knock on the door, but then it occurred to her that anyone who was supposed to be on this ship wouldn't bother knocking. "It's okay, shh, no threat. It's okay" she reassured the restless, spooked dragons quickly.

With more than a bit of trepidation, she tried to open the door, only to find it had been locked from the outside. Whoever was on the other side, Eret she presumed, discovered that fact as well. Fortunately, Astrid prided herself on always coming prepared. She slid a couple of pins out of her hair, that she'd used to put her braid up, slid them into the lock and jiggled them about a bit. They didn't work so well from this side, so she pushed them through the thin gap under the door and rapped on it to get Eret's attention.

Minutes later, the door was opened and she slipped out into the corridor after a hastily whispered, "All clear!"

Eret looked relieved to see her. "What do we do? Drago's down that way" he said, pointing the way they were going.

"We've come this far; and we have to get Hiccup back to Toothless" Astrid insisted, clambering back inside the cart. Eret pushed it along the passageway and nervously asked, "What do we do if he finds us?"

"Fight or die" she replied bluntly, "It's a Viking thing. We're stubborn".

* * *

 _Note to self – learn to pick locks. Second note to self – keep lock-picks on person. Third note to self – don't keep getting manacled._ Hiccup struggled fruitlessly against his bonds before slumping down again and pulling at his hair in frustration. He felt like he should be shivering with cold, but when he touched his skin, it was warm enough.

Of course Ekeren and the other night furies had warned him and Toothless about what being separated was like. He thought he'd been prepared for it, but how did you prepare for cold like this? Maybe it wasn't as bad for dragons, living furnaces that they were. Hiccup had asked if there was any way to counter-act the cold, painful tug.

The only way dragons knew of for newly heart bound pairs was to want to be separated, since the effect only occurred if the separation was unwilling. Of course this felt counter-intuitive, because he _didn't_ want to be separated from Toothless. He tried it nonetheless, imagining that he didn't want to find his other half, that he wasn't incredibly worried about his best friend…but alas, it failed.

Instead he tried to keep his mind off the cold, periodically attempting escape. Just then, the door to his cell opened and Drago walked inside. Hiccup had already scrambled to his feet – it was a minor act of defiance, but it made him feel a tiny bit better. Drago looked unimpressed with his attempt.

"Several of my men were found unconscious at the stern of the ship" he informed Hiccup, "Where your parents and friends were taken to be executed".

Hiccup's heart leapt, and he fought to keep his face neutral. _They're alive? They escaped?_

Drago stalked closer, bearing down on him, and gripped him around the throat. "I have a battle to plan, and to win" he murmured, "So I don't have time to search for runaways…but rest assured, Dragon Master. They _will_ be found, and executed, and their dragons will be mine…and I will make you watch".

With his threat made, Drago released Hiccup and left the cell. Hiccup heard it being locked and dragged his hands over his face, racking his brains, searching his pockets desperately. Even as he did so, he wondered _what can I do? I can't stop this…_ All he could think of was the others giving themselves away, and getting caught, and then being…he forced the thought out of his head, he couldn't dwell on that, it would drive him mad with worry.

He had lost track of time, but it didn't seem too long before he heard a scuffle outside the door. He tensed, and pressed back against the wall, eyes wide. There were a couple of thuds, and then the door opened slowly. To his relief, the person who entered was not Drago or one of his soldiers, but someone he'd been longing to see. "Astrid!"

"Hiccup!" she exclaimed, not loudly, and rushed over to him. He hugged as her as best he could with his wrists manacled to the wall, and asked her a dozen questions about how they'd escaped, where the others were, had anyone seen them, what was _Eret_ doing here?

The former trapper held his hands up in surrender and insisted "I'm on your side!"

"He is. He's helping us. I am so, so sorry Hiccup" Astrid apologised, "This is all my fault".

"It's okay" he forgave her, because what she'd done was nothing compared to Drago. "Come on, we need to get out of here".

Astrid and Eret freed Hiccup from the manacles, and then they dragged the bodies of the two guards into the cell and locked them in there. "Your transport awaits" Eret snarked, gesturing to the cart; then he pulled a knife out from beneath his clothes and held it, handle first, out to Hiccup. "Take it" he prompted impatiently. Hiccup didn't really need a prompt; he took the weapon and climbed into the cart, followed by Astrid. It was a tight fit.

They had no idea how they managed to work their way back through the ship to the deck, forced to take many detours and hide many times. It seemed to last forever, but finally, finally Eret whispered to them to climb out – which they did, with some difficulty. He could feel the heart bind tugging him towards Toothless, and with many stops and starts, they found the right trap. "Are you _sure_ this is the one?" Eret said doubtfully.

"I know it is" Hiccup insisted. _Hang on, Toothless, I'm almost there._ They got it open wide enough for Hiccup to climb in; though not before Astrid had stolen a kiss and whispered, "Good luck".

"You too" he whispered in kind.

Once the trap was sealed once more, Eret and Astrid sneaked to look for their own dragons. To their relief, it wasn't long before they found two Nadder traps all but next to one another; and just by chance, the first one they opened contained Stormfly. "Hey, girl" Astrid cooed, petting her dragon in relief, "Sorry I took so long".

Meanwhile, Eret opened and hid inside the same trap as the Nadder who had inexplicably come to his rescue, what seemed like a lifetime ago. "Thank you, for saving my life" he told the dragon solemnly…his breath caught in his throat when the Nadder - what had Astrid called him, Sky Fire? – moved his head forward and pressed his snout against Eret's palm. _Gods help me, I must be mad…_ "Now let me return the favour".

* * *

The moment he was inside the trap, Hiccup scrambled closer and wrapped his arms around Toothless, shuddering with relief. He finally felt like he could _breathe_ again. The cold had diminished as he drew closer to his other half and now it was gone, and he warmed himself against Toothless' scales. A few moments later, he realised that something was very wrong.

"Toothless?" he murmured, pulling back to look at his dragon properly. To his dismay, his best friend's pupils were thin slits. Brief despair gave way to determination; he carefully removed the muzzle, took a deep breath and spoke softly, coaxing his brother back to reality. "Toothless…I'm right here. It's me, I'm right here…come back to me" he begged, but there was no sign, not even a twitch, to show that Toothless had heard him.

Drago's cruel words ran through his mind… _You and your dragon belong to me now….no! He can't have us…he can't have_ you _…_ "It wasn't your fault" he reassured Toothless, tenderly caressing his snout and jaw. "You were made to do it…you didn't hurt me. You'd never hurt me" he insisted, with absolute conviction, "You would _never hurt me_ ".

At last, Toothless seemed to stir – his pupils flickered from slits to square-ish pools. *…Hiccup…*

"It's me, I'm here" Hiccup smiled, "It wasn't your fault. You hear me? What happened was not your fault".

*…nearly…killed…*

"You _didn't._ You wouldn't….and if you had, I'd forgive you" Hiccup promised. He fully believed that Toothless would have resisted to the end, but if the worst had happened, if he had been unable to stop himself…well, if dragons didn't go to Valhalla, then he'd have escaped to wherever they _did_ go, and find Toothless, and tell him all was forgiven.

Toothless blinked, his pupils returning to normal for longer, shifting like he was struggling to wake up but his body would not obey him. "Please…you are my other half" Hiccup pleaded, "My best friend, my brother…I won't leave you" he promised, resting his forehead against Toothless' and closing his eyes. "I won't let them take you away. I won't let you go". He summoned all his willpower, and finally said, *I need you. I love you*.

 _He found me. He forgives me. He still loves me._ Toothless fought against the lingering command of the Alpha – no, _Usurper,_ this Bewilderbeast was not _his_ Alpha; Hiccup's voice was the only one that mattered. He willed himself free, and Hiccup willed him free, and in some strange way their minds collided and the ice that held him shattered. Toothless shook his head and blinked and looked at Hiccup with wide eyes filled with love and relief, stretching his neck forward to lick and nuzzle his beloved other half.

Accepting the sudden barrage of dragon saliva with good humour, Hiccup hugged him wordlessly. No words were needed. He took the lock pick Astrid had gifted him with – she had several spares, but hadn't wished to tell him what she used them all for…perhaps he didn't want to know…and unlocked the manacles around Toothless' paws, and heaved away the arch trapping his wings. As he did so he explained all that Astrid had told him.

When he'd finished freeing Toothless, the dragon sat up as best he could and hugged him with one foreleg. *We have to end this* he insisted. Hiccup nodded in agreement, but then added, "Let...let's try to get some rest, first".

So they settled down, with Hiccup hidden under Toothless' wing, taking comfort in each other's presence…but neither of them could really rest for what felt like a very long time.


	11. Battle Royale

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'Skyfall' (Adele/Sam Tsui cover), and 'I See Fire' (Ed Sheeran/Peter Hollens cover).

Chapter Ten – Battle Royale

Hours passed; hours of hiding and waiting. Hours of trying to snatch rest in fitful bursts, too stressed to sleep but too tired not to doze. Hours of fear that at any minute, they would be discovered, and everything would go wrong.

Yet no-one else opened the traps, and they felt as if they just might be able to pull it off. Everyone except for Eret, perhaps, who had no idea what he would do when the trap opened up. Hopefully the Nadder – Sky Fire, he reminded himself – wouldn't mind him…riding him? Being ridden, that sounded better. He nervously patted the dragon's smooth scales; it was surprisingly relaxing. He really hoped the dragon couldn't tell that he made a living…used to make a living from hunting dragons…or maybe he already knew?

Fishlegs was nervous. Snotlout and the twins wanted to get out and wreak some much deserved havoc on Drago's army; to make up for, in their own destructive way, the mistakes they'd made before. Astrid, too, was ready to fight. Their dragon partners reflected their moods, chittering or rumbling, twitching their wings and tails in the confined spaces of the traps.

Hiccup and Toothless were in complete agreement. Whatever happened, however it ended, they had to end this war…and they had to stop Drago, for good.

Finally the nearly unnoticeable rock of the ship in the swell became a bobbing in the shallows. Early dawn light cut in through the slits in the metal as the tarps were pulled away, but still the traps were not opened. It was only a matter of time.

Everyone who could fit between the metal and the dragons scrambled into their saddles. Shouts and roars and thuds and shrieks echoed around and above them, and they knew that as soon as the traps opened, all hell would break loose. It was now or never!

Screech, rumble, thud! One by one, the traps were dragged or carried out by Drago's forces onto the beach of the island, the Ice Nest, where the battle raged. Outside, dragons swooped and flamed at the hordes of invaders, with Gobber joyfully screaming battle cries as Grump absently bludgeoned the intruders with his tail. "Ya want a piece of me, ya rotten buggers?!"

"Whatever comes, keep hitting the mountain!" Drago bellowed to his soldiers, who loaded catapults with boulders and bombarded the icy, stony fortress. "We need to draw the Alpha out!"

Even before he emerged from the nest, the Alpha was lending his subjects courage and strength, shielding them from the influence of Beast…the younger Bewilderbeast had not thought to maintained his grasp on the captured dragons he thought were safe in cages, so they too were protected by the Alpha.

"Ready the traps!"

The traps were opened…dragons swooped down to try and burn or slash their kin free, only for the traps to snap shut on the ones who got too close. Then the men rushing around one trap got a whiff of Zippleback gas, except it was pouring out of the trap itself, but weren't the dragons muzzled?

BANG! Two traps were opened simultaneously, and the flames of the Nightmare in one met the gas of the Zippleback in the other; a whole platoon was sent flying in the resulting explosion.

"SURPRISE! _Yeah_!" Tuffnut hollered at the scattered, groaning, ash smeared soldiers. Snotlout whooped a battle cry even as Hookfang swerved almost upside down to avoid enemy fire, spiralling into the sky with a bellow of excitement to match his rider.

"WHAT?!" Drago thundered, apoplectic. He had ordered everyone to search the entire ship; that included the traps, had no one thought to check the traps?!

Of course that's the first place they'd hide!

Why hadn't their dragons been locked up on different ships? Did he have to do _everything_ himself?

The next to escape were Fishlegs, Astrid and Eret. "Welcome aboard, fellow rider!" Astrid called to the former trapper, who was clinging to Sky Fire tightly and looking terrified.

"Thanks, I think! Whoa!" He screamed – a very manly scream – as Sky Fire rolled to avoid a net catapulted at him, and only barely managed to stay on.

"Get higher!" Astrid shouted, urging Stormfly out of range. Sky Fire quickly followed. *How do you fly with a human on your back?* he asked his fellow spine-tail, who replied *Don't go upside down too much and hope they hold on!*

It seemed that the traps still on the ships would not be opened; but it was an easy matter for the now unmuzzled Skull-Crusher and Cloud-Jumper to burn the doors of the traps. Stoick and his rumblehorn burst out bellowing, throwing themselves whole-heartedly into the fight.

Valka and her stormcutter leapt into the sky and gave matching cries of outrage at the damage to their home. Cloud-Jumper's hurricane like flames denuded an entire battalion of archers and two catapults, and Valka remained balanced even as her dragon swerved out of range of chains.

Astrid's gaze swept the battlefield, both ground and sky, and even in the chaos she quickly noticed the absence of a whistling shriek or pitch black dragon. "Hiccup and Toothless are still on the ship!"

Hiccup was trying not to panic; he hadn't even considered that their trap might not be opened. He felt like such an idiot; of course Drago wasn't going to open the trap containing a night fury, not if there was the slightest chance of another dragon freeing Toothless…

Only Toothless had been restrained so that no dragon could have freed him, so he could have been used as bait – Hiccup didn't know what Drago had been thinking, and he didn't really care, but they had to get out of there!

Toothless charged up a plasma blast, but quickly stopped himself when Hiccup cried "Wait! Don't waste your shots. Just roar – maybe someone will open the trap and we can get out!" he instructed, crouching in the saddle and ready to fly at a moment's notice.

Toothless sucked in a deep breath and roared loudly; loud enough to startle the soldiers nearby, who turned and stared at the trap containing them. Astrid, Stormfly, Eret and Sky Fire heard it too, as they dived to the rescue.

Sky Fire was sticking close to Stormfly, so that if his unexpected cargo fell off (and Eret certainly felt like he was going to) the other dragon would be there to catch him, and vice versa. It seemed doubtful that Astrid would fall off, though; for one thing, she had more experience, and something to hold onto.

"Stormfly, spines!" Astrid cried as her dragon back-winged; the nadder flicked her tail around and sent poisonous spikes showering down upon the hunters even as they drew their bows. Sky Fire swiftly followed suit, and the soldiers scattered under a double hail of spines.

*Calm down, we'll get you out!* Stormfly called to Toothless, shrieking to get his attention. Astrid directed her dragon into position, and then pressed her hand firmly on the back of Stormfly's neck. Her tail flicked reflexively and a single spine struck the mechanism pinning the trap closed.

The metal jaws cracked open, and a black blur rocketed up into the sky, rapidly gaining altitude. Astrid cheered and urged Stormfly to follow them up; they caught up with Toothless swerving out of his frantic climb, sensing they were out of range of any human weapons.

"Thank you!" Hiccup called to her gratefully; then he noticed her company. "Hey, Eret! Looking good!"

"Thanks – _urgh_!" The former trapper looked like he was having a hard time not throwing up.

The twins and Snotlout were having the time of their lives. "Dragon riders, coming through!" Barf&Belch glided over a line of traps, spewing gas; Hookfang swept past in the opposite direction and ignited it. The resulting wave of fire burned the ropes and muzzles holding down the dragons inside each open trap, who quickly shook out their wings, roared and leapt into the fray.

"Fire!" Fishlegs bellowed as Meatlug spat huge globules of lava at the ships and traps and hunters.

*Take that you horrible humans!*

"Ha, ha, ha!" Snotlout laughed madly, clinging on for dear life as Hookfang's serpentine form coiled through the air, twisting around to flame at several of the dragons chasing them before more of the Alpha's subjects leapt on the armoured enemies, tearing and clawing.

"Cut them down!" Drago bellowed, spitting with rage. Chains were catapulted through the air; Tuffnut yanked hard on Belch's horns and one head of the Zippleback dove away, but Ruffnut didn't duck in time.

"Eret son of Eret!" she screamed as she plummeted to her doom – only to be snatched by her arm out of the air, by none other than Snotlout, of all people. She stared at him, suddenly seeing him in a whole new more impressive way...and beamed. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

Toothless and Hiccup circled the battlefield, relying solely on their speed and agility to keep them one step ahead of the fighting hordes of dragons. He folded his wings and dived and fired, freeing a raincutter from a net trap. *Thank you!*

There was an enormous, thunderous crash of ice and stone; the whole mountain shook as a massive, white and blue scaled behemoth of a dragon heaved itself out, bellowing in fury. Every dragon, and one human, was hit by an emotional tidal wave – **OUTRAGE! DEFEND! PROTECT!**

"The Alpha!" Drago cried out, a twisted smile marring his features even more, "Now, we have a fight!"

Torrents of freezing water crashed over Drago's forces, turning to ice on impact and destroying the traps from which dragons had been freed. Ignoring the carnage and the screaming, Drago whirled his staff and bellowed at the top of his lungs. Even beneath the water, Beast heard Master's call. His chains had been released; he could emerge and fight the old king, and he would be victorious, and Master would be proud!

Ships were surged aside, the seawater roiled and churned, pouring from Beast's scales as he trudged out of the ocean and onto the beach. There were so many tiny creatures running about on the sand, and he did his best not to tread on them, but his steps were slow and clumsy out of the water. Fortunately they had the sense to avoid running under his paws. Beast roared _**CHALLENGE**_ **!** at the old king, and Alpha bristled and thundered in return.

Drago grinned in malicious satisfaction as the battle raged on and Beast threw himself into the fight with the white Alpha. The tell-tale sound of wind rushing across speeding wings, and the whistling shriek of a charging plasma blast made him scowl and scan the skies. "It's not over, boy" he muttered as he watched the night fury fly past. He had ordered his men to guard that particular trap and not to open it – Drago made a mental note to find out who had abandoned their post, and make examples of them after he had won.

Valka and Cloud-Jumper rallied more of their pack-mates against Drago's army; the Zippleback dragons dove down and rolled, breathing gas and turning themselves into flaming cartwheels that scorched through the soldiers and, burning and crushing. One of them flailed beneath a trap, but Toothless and Hiccup were already swerving around for another shot. "Come on, Toothless! Show 'em what you got, bud!"

*Gladly!* Toothless folded his wings, twisted and they dived, blasting the edge of the trap. The force flipped it over and the zippleback escaped, their heads blasting in unison at a helmeted dragon that had been making a lunge at them and Toothless.

"Whoo-hoo!" Hiccup cheered, "Attaboy!"

Cloud-Jumper grabbed and threw an armoured dragon off one of their own, but the rescue took him and Valka into the path of a net catapult, and slowed them down. He crashed into the snow, mildly grateful for the relatively soft landing, and Valka was thrown from his shoulders. As soon as she could she scrambled back to her feet and hurried to free him, but movement caught her eye and she started, realising that Drago was there.

"Hiding in the traps" he remarked with a bit of a sneer, "How clever". He went on the attack; Valka blocked the blow with her staff and set her jaw, glaring at him.

"We outsmarted you and your so-called army" she declared, "And you will not take these dragons! They belong to our Alpha!"

"Then it's a good thing I brought a challenger!"

"You won't win" Valka spat at him, "You couldn't even keep hold of us the first time!"

She knew it was foolish to antagonise him, but she was so angry. How dare he come here and desecrate her home? How dare he try to enslave her people? How dare he threaten to kill or enslave her sons?!

So she fought him, and she fought hard, but he was bigger and stronger and as fierce as she. His hook knocked her feet out from underneath her, and her staff slid away from her grasp as he pinned her to the ground. Cloud-Jumper snarled angrily at him and struggled harder, wishing his human sister-companion was not so close to the scar faced man so that he could flame at him.

Valka stared with wide, terrified eyes and Drago took a moment to revel in her fear, as he raised his weapon to strike – the breath was knocked out of him as something heavy collided with his shoulder and threw him away. When he recovered, he glared and snarled himself to see that Viking chief helping the wretched dragon thief to her feet.

"Thank you" she said gratefully.

"For you, my dear, anything" he replied, turning to face Drago and twirling his battle axe in his hands, itching for a proper fight. Valka rushed back to Cloud-Jumper, snatching her staff from the ground as she ran; with help from Skull's jaws she freed him and they leapt back into the fray. Stoick's dragon remained behind, circling the men who began to circle and fight each other.

The largest battle of all still raged on between Beast and Alpha. One fought out of desperation, fear of punishment and desire to please his Master. The other fought for his territory, his loyal subjects and his very life. The two leviathans shoved and struck each other with their mighty tusks, locking in combat and wresting free.

Beast was far more aggressive, raised from hatching to lunge and strike and never back down – but Alpha was far, far older, and whilst his rule had not been challenged for centuries, long buried memories of old fights were bursting to the surface like bubbles from the depths of his oceanic mind. He kept his back paws braced against the mountain and his front paws spread, head lowered so as not to expose his vulnerable neck.

Beast snarled and roared in desperate rage, battering at Alpha physically and mentally. _**ANGER-CRUSHING-FURY-HATE**_ **!**

 _ **RESIST-DEFEND-PROTECT-SURVIVE!**_ Alpha screamed back at the one he called Rival in return.

It didn't help that part of Beast was distracted; he had lost the Swift-Wing and its rider, and he had lost many other dragons too but that one was special. He thought that Master might want it alive, so he set a few of his subjects to chase the black dragon down, but it was too fast, too fast!

It didn't matter – he just had to defeat and conquer and kill the Old King, and all the dragons would be his. The Swift-Wing had resisted him but it could not resist forever. Beast thought that little human who rode him helped him resist somehow, and if they really were heart bound then he would control the dragon and Master would control the human, and all would be well.

He shoved at the Old King, locking tusks with him and pushing with all his strength. Alpha could not be shoved any further back; boulders and enormous chunks of ice crumbled and struck his hide, but he barely felt them. His forepaws dug into the sand and pebbles beneath them, but still Rival pushed him back and up, and he clawed at Rival's shoulders.

As they raced high above the battlefield, Toothless-Hiccup saw the struggle unfold and knew as one that they had to _do something_. If Usurper threw Alpha aside and lunged and gored him, and Hiccup could picture this very thing happening as if the future was unfolding inside his mind's eye, the tide of the battle would turn against them.

Challenges were single combat only- if the pact to fight one on one was broken, any dragon could retaliate or get involved, and bloody free-for-all feuds could flare up. It was not unheard of for challenges to be interrupted, but the cost of the ensuing brawl outweighed the benefits.

In this case, however, they were desperate – their side was winning, from what Hiccup could tell, but it was a close run thing. If Usurper killed Alpha then he could control every dragon and Drago would go on to crush Berk. All the defences they'd built would not stand up to two entire packs of dragons.

Toothless knew his brother, and without having to ask he dove and swept over the head of the struggling Alpha; Toothless roared for attention and together he and Hiccup cried, in thought-speak, *Ice him! *

Both the Bewilderbeasts heard them, but Beast was caught off guard by the cry – no dragon had ever interrupted a challenge he had issued before. Alpha spat ice into his eyes and he staggered backwards, howling and shaking his head, breaking the stalemate. Spitting was considered a dirty fighting trick, by dragons as much as humans, but desperate times truly did call for desperate measures.

The swift-wing interrupted! It had to be caught and made to obey or everything would go wrong, Master would be displeased, Beast would be punished! He sent an order to his nearby subjects to chase the Swift-Wing out of the sky and hold it and its human rider down.

 _ **CHALLENGE**_ **!** the King bellowed, drawing his attention back and away from the quick, clever dragon-human pair in gratitude for the good idea that saved his life. It was too late, though – four armoured dragons chased the pair, forcing Toothless to jinx back and forth as they cornered him. "Up!" Hiccup yelled, and up they went.

The dragons gave chase, flaming at them, but they were flying up too fast for the fires to catch. They couldn't keep climbing forever, but just as they were about to twist round and dive, to outfly their pursuers in the battles chaos, the dragons caught up. They leapt on Toothless, grappling with him in mid-air; Hiccup tried to hold on but he was torn away and dropped out of the sky.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried out in alarm, seeing him plummet. Stormfly banked hard and flew to catch him. Valka had also seen, and urged Cloud-Jumper forward, both of them racing to help Hiccup.

Both were too far away. Toothless tried to dive down after him but the dragons grabbed at his wings and held him back no matter how much he roared and thrashed and bit and clawed. Thinking quickly, Hiccup deployed his wings just to slow himself down; but a nearby fight between a Nadder and a Shovelhelm sent spines tearing through the thin leather membrane. "Oh, come on!"

Stormfly and Cloud flew faster, Toothless struggled harder, Hiccup tried not to panic – there were dragons everywhere, Usurper's back was rushing up to meet him far too eagerly – and then he heard the unmistakable whistling of wind across wings.

Valka and Astrid stared in amazement and delight as a large black blur streaked through the sky and snatched Hiccup out of the air. Another night fury! And – Valka could hardly believe her eyes – there were _more_ , leaping on the dragons harassing Toothless.

Where in Odin's name did they come from? Valka looked up and realised that there were more dragons, a whole flock of them swooping in from on high. When she looked closer she realised that quite a few of them had riders sporting horned helmets and bushy beards…

*Gotcha! * Selena crowed triumphantly when she caught Hiccup, tucking her head in to see him better. "Selena?!" he exclaimed, staring at her in shock. She gave him a gummy smile. *Hello!*

She carried him up until they were level with Toothless and the other dragons, and twisted around to hover facing his other half. Their fellow night furies – Shadow, Black Fire, Nocte and Skylancer! – fought and chased off the dragons who had tried to drag Toothless away. The downside, of course, is that once freed from their grasp he could not keep himself in the air, not without Hiccup to deploy the tail fin.

"Drop me!" Hiccup commanded; startled more by the volume than anything else, Selena obeyed. Hiccup plummeted after Toothless, who writhed in the air until he was angled properly. Hiccup did the same – Selena had dropped him feet first so he flipped himself over and reached out – "Hang on, buddy, almost there!"

He kept his body streamlined as possible, and quickly caught up with Toothless, pulling himself into the saddle. The tail fin fanned out with a sharp _snap_ , Toothless' wings spread wide and caught the air, and they swept out of the freefall in the nick of time.

They did not dash themselves against the jagged scales and protuberances of Usurper's back, but they were gliding at alarming speed towards the dark Bewilderbeast's rising tail, and they were already too close! If he had stopped to think about it, Toothless might have jinxed left or right, twisted past the tail instead.

He did not stop to think about it, and neither did Hiccup. It was now or never. "Hold on!" he cried, switching the tail fin from 'glide' to 'climb' as Toothless tensed his muscles and split his fins apart. The air rushed over his spine differently, he beat his wings hard and forced his body to angle _upwards_ …

The tail came up and they just, _just_ missed it, twirling past it with mere inches scraping between them and yet another crash. "Ha, ha! Yes! We did it!" Hiccup cheered triumphantly, shaking Toothless' grinning jaw the way he might shake a human comrades' shoulder.

They rolled out of the climb and flew level with Selena and Shadow on either side. "I can't believe you guys are here!"

*Selena told us you might need help * Shadow explained, *Now what in Moon's name is going on?!*

"Long story short, a war. Just free as many dragons as you can and try not to get caught! The dragons with armour aren't on our side but they're being controlled by that big guy" Hiccup pointed down at Usurper who was still grappling hard with Alpha, "They're not in their right minds so try not to hurt them!"

*That wasn't short* Toothless pointed out even as they raced to scare away some dragons chasing Meatlug and Fishlegs.

"Thanks Hiccup! Wait- Gustav?!"

"Whoo, yeah! Come on Fanghook!"

Hiccup suddenly realised that it wasn't just the night furies of Myrkr that had come to the rescue; it was the entire Berk Pack! Led by Heather astride Windshear, Dagur with Sleuther and Shattermaster, and Spitelout riding Kingstail, dragons and Hooligans and even a few manically screaming Berserkers joined the fray. The Ice Pack dragons and the War dragons had no idea what to make of these unexpected arrivals, but once the King's subjects realised these newcomers were here to help, they weren't about to complain!


	12. Victory at Last

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'Big Time Rush' and 'Superheroes' (The Script).

Chapter Eleven – Victory at Last

"What are you two _doing_ here?!" Astrid demanded of Heather and Dagur, both thrilled to see one of her best friends, and shocked that the Berserker chief and his sister were even there at all. How had they even known to come?

"Astrid! Hi!" Dagur waved manically at her, "You're not gonna believe this! Heather and I went to Berk to discuss battle strategies with Stoick, but they said he and Hiccup and all of you had left the island, and just when we were gonna leave, a whole bunch of Night Furies showed up! _Night Furies,_ Astrid!"

"The one that rescued Hiccup just then, she seemed to look around for him and Toothless, and then she started acting weird, but then I realised, maybe she was trying to tell us something. Hey, who's your friend?" Heather asked suddenly, noticing Eret at last.

"This is Eret. He's new".

"Say no more. So that female Night Fury flew around and sort of…gestured…and I finally figured out she was trying to say that you guys – well, really more Hiccup and Toothless, but I knew you were probably with them – were in trouble, and that they'd come to help. And then - I don't know how - she got all of the other dragons to come along with us!" Heather explained quickly.

They broke apart briefly to dodge around other dragons and reunited again. "This is crazy!" Heather announced, before grinning and looking more like a Berserker than ever. "I love it! Let's go, Windshear! Come on, Dagur, let's go kick those hunter's butts!"

"Right behind you, sis!"

* * *

As the titan Bewilderbeasts grappled, and his sons flew and fought for their lives high above the massive dragons' backs, Stoick faced off against Drago Bludvist himself. He swung his axe with strong broad strokes, but the warlord blocked and parried every blow with that blasted bullhook of his. As warriors they were all but evenly matched in size and strength.

One of Drago's heavier blows sent Stoick flying, and his axe was flung out of his grasp. In the next instant Gobber careened past – "Stoick!" – and tossed him the ridiculously large mace from his own prosthetic 'hand'. Stoick whirled round and struck Drago in the stomach, sending the man tumbling with a pained groan. Drago staggered to his feet, his twisted features contorted even further as he snarled angrily, dominantly. Stoick glared right back and set his feet, ready to fight to the last. Their duel would have begun all over again, if not for a sudden, very loud, pained scream.

The two enemies called a brief, unspoken ceasefire as they stared at the grey Bewilderbeast, who was staggering backwards and shaking his head, pawing at his face. From the shards of ice crumbling away from his eyes, it became clear what had occurred, and the white Bewilderbeast pressed the advantage. " _No_!" Drago roared furiously, as if the massive dragon could hear him from down there, "Keep fighting! _Fight_!"

They saw a familiar, sleek black shape swerving and jinxing above the grey Bewilderbeast, climbing at speed into the air but pursued by no less than four metal covered dragons. Stoick's eyes widened in alarm as they caught up with the Night Fury and snatched at him, throwing Hiccup from his back.

" _Hiccup_!"

"Take him down!" Drago yelled with bloodthirsty fervour. He had lied to the boy; he never intended to enslave the so called 'Dragon Master'. No challenger to his rule could be allowed to live. He had only planned to break Hiccup's spirits before crushing him; the Night Fury could be made to fly for him, one way or another.

Stoick made a break for Skull-Crusher to rush to his son's rescue, because even from there he could see that Toothless was being held back by the armoured dragons and could not dive to catch his rider. The movement caught Drago's attention and he leapt to the attack once more, forcing Stoick to block and counteract him. "You cannot save him now!"

Stoick knocked the bullhook out of his hands; he knocked the mace out of Stoick's. They fought with fists, punching and ducking and swinging. Drago struck his chest with a fist like a hammer and shoved his opponent back with all his might. The Viking Chief landed in the dirt with a painful thud. Drago advanced on the groaning man, ready to deliver the final blow.

Of course no one, no matter how strong or fierce, could prepare to be rammed into by thousands of pounds of hard, scaly muscle and bone. Drago went flying at Skull-Crusher's strike, and did not rise; though the dragon could tell from his scent and the faint sound of his breathing that he still lived.

Stoick struggled to his feet, shaking off the pain. He'd been struck worse. "Thank you, friend" he told Skull gratefully, before recalling Hiccup and looking up just in time to see his human son, and his adopted dragon son pulling out of a dive and sweeping up the monstrous dark grey dragons tail.

His jaw dropped a moment later, when he saw the Night Furies chasing those armoured dragons away, and all the other dragons diving into the fight, and the people on their backs… "What in Thor's name is going on!" he demanded of no-one in particular as he pulled himself into the saddle.

They flew to intercept Spitelout, who told them what Heather had told Astrid; that a bunch of Night Furies had turned up on Berk the morning after Stoick had left, and somehow convinced all the other dragons on Berk to follow them, so of course their riders had tagged along too!

Even better than the reinforcements from Berk were the Night Furies – including Toothless, there were _twelve_ of the fastest, most feared dragons known to Viking-kind racing across the battlefield. Their blasts destroyed traps, sent soldiers scattering; their manoeuvres let them dodge enemies, bolas' and nets. It was an incredible sight, in the glimpses Stoick got as the chaos raged on.

"So did the lad ever find that dragon thief?" Spitelout called over the din.

"She's not a thief, she's my wife!" Stoick yelled back, pointing at Valka who was swooping through the sky battle atop Cloud like a Valkyrie, and looked, in his opinion, simply beautiful.

His second in command stared. "That's Valka?" he exclaimed in disbelief; the Chief's wife was dead!

"Now we know where Hiccup gets it from!" Stoick laughed loudly, before nearly getting thrown from the saddle as a dragon was knocked into Skull-Crusher, who roared a warning. *Careful! *

*Sorry! *

"Whoa! Steady, old boy!"

Stoick regained his balance, and then he noticed that Valka and Cloud-Jumper were being pursued much like Toothless and Hiccup had been. "Over there, Skull-Crusher! Hurry!"

The Rumblehorn roared and twisted in the air and flew towards the harried pair. Valka was knocked off of Cloud's shoulders but Stoick leapt from the saddle, grabbing her in mid-air and tumbling down with her, slamming his axe into the ice to slow them down. Their dragons flamed and slashed at the rivals, dragons who had lost their armour but still had the slit eyed stare of creatures without free will.

Everything was chaos – naturally, a lot of the riders were revelling in it. Even Eret had overcome his initial 'first flight nerves' and was no longer clinging to Sky Fire, but sitting up and flying bareback as Astrid instructed him in brief bursts. He was still envious that she had a saddle, though; he was starting to hurt in places he didn't like to mention.

All that went ignored when he, along with Astrid, first saw those magnificent black dragons sweeping across the sky, causing beautiful destruction in their wake. He was really glad the Night Furies were on _their_ side.

* * *

The arrival of the Berk pack and the Night Furies of Myrkr changed the tide of the battle like nothing else. Under the guidance of the dragon-rider pairs, they harried the ships– there were dragons still trapped on board, waiting to be freed. Globules of lava spewed by Gronckles and other Boulder class dragons melted much of the metal protecting the ships, freeing many of the dragons within. It was fitting that the metal, Gronckle Iron, was destroyed by those dragons themselves.

Dagur and Heather were having the time of their lives, sinking ships with their 'shatter scatter' manoeuvre.

Yet the victory was not clinched; the Berk pack dragons were not as fresh to the fight as they appeared. They had been flying nearly non-stop for a day and night to be there, without even knowing that there was a fight to have. Traps were downing dragons as quickly as they could be freed, and the Berk dragons were tired, and the ground was littered with the bodies of not only hunters, but dragons dead and injured.

The King fought valiantly, but Usurper was increasingly frantic, spraying ice in the King's face and shoving at him and screaming at him. * **SURRENDER-DIE-** _ **OBEY**_ **-** _ **FEAR OF PAIN!***_

 _ ***RESIST-DEFEND-**_ **SURRENDER!***

Hiccup couldn't help but flinch at the battle of wills – two tidal waves of pure thought and emotion were crashing together, and he was getting soaked to the skin. He knew Toothless was feeling something similar, as was every dragon, as well as the brief but powerful wave of * **COURAGE-STRENGTH*** that Alpha sent out moments later. The fatigue blown from him temporarily, Hiccup focused on the battle at hand, but part of him kept thinking about Usurper's thought-spoken cries.

They didn't make sense – he wanted the King to surrender and die, to obey out of fear of pain; but if he was planning to kill the other Bewilderbeast anyway, why would he expect the King to obey him? The feeling of 'obey' and 'fear of pain' felt different, somehow – it didn't feel as if someone was giving him an order he couldn't refuse, or threatening him – it felt more…as if he was being pleaded with…

Thoughts of whatever might be going on with the maddened Bewilderbeast were thrown out of his mind when Toothless screeched in alarm and cried *Selena!*

Their closest Night Fury friend had dived to free some dragons from a trap, only to be shot down by an entangling bolas. She fell with a shriek and skidded to a halt in the snow and sand…worst of all, Drago was nearby, and stalking towards her. "Let's go!"

Drago had not been pleased to have been briefly knocked unconscious – he'd _skin_ that Rumblehorn and use its hide as fresh armour – and he was even less pleased to see that somehow, inexplicably, the do-gooder dragon riders had called for reinforcements. Then he saw the Night Furies and his mood changed. After Hauke – one of his most loyal followers - had been killed, he'd sent his men out to Myrkr to bring back Night Furies for his army, but the wretched beasts had fled into the interior of that vast country.

He'd meant to go back in search of them – but now they had come to him! Beast would surely take down the Alpha soon – the stupid creature was fighting far too frantically to be truly effective, but Drago had faith in the training he'd bestowed. Of the dragons perished or injured, most were not in his army. Once they won, and he had _twelve_ of the deadliest dragons on his side, he could go and help himself to a whole pack more.

One of them was shot down close to him – but the soldiers who had netted it refused to get closer. Cowards, all of them; Drago stalked towards the blue eyed dragon, swinging the staff he'd retrieved and bellowing. He would force it to submit to him, prove to it who was boss, and then maybe he'd order his men to keep it alive. Not it, her – he realised, as he drew closer, that this one was female. Just like the one he'd slain years ago, during one of his first conquests.

The dragon struggled and squirmed away from him, struggling to open her jaws enough to blast at him. Drago knew his cloak could deflect the blow, so he continued to advance, swinging, roaring. He said nothing aloud, and definitely not in thought-speak – but in his tone and body language and scent Selena could see clearly the message _Submit! I am angry and fierce and will hurt you so submit!_

What he didn't know was that Selena was a Queen-to-be, and she didn't back down to anybody. What he also didn't expect was for a plasma blast to explode at his feet, throwing him aside _again._ This time he did not strike his skull and pass out for a few moments…he struggled to sit up and stared as the crippled Night Fury and his pathetic rider landed beside the downed female.

Hiccup didn't even spare Drago a glance as he vaulted from the saddle and drew a blade with which to cut Selena's bonds. Toothless snarled at Drago, ready to keep the man at bay. *Thank you, Hiccup* Selena said gratefully as he sawed through the ropes binding her mouth and paws.

"Don't thank me yet" he muttered, cutting through the ropes as fast as he could, part of his attention on Toothless and Drago.

The warlord had dragged himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his staff. His ribs felt like they were cracked from the Rumblehorns' blow, his head was ringing from the Night Fury's blast, and his missing arm was burning the stump with a vicious phantom pain, the worst he'd had in months.

He ignored all of this pain; all that mattered now was subduing the growling beast before him, slaying his rival in controlling dragons, and claim victory at last. With a snarl of his own he trudged forwards, holding his bullhook like a spear to defend himself and threaten the dragon.

Toothless moved between his enemy and his brother still trying to free Selena. His ears picked up the distinctive twang of ropes falling slack at last, but they were too thick, and Hiccup was sawing through them too slowly - *Cut quickly, Hiccup! *

"I am!" Hiccup hissed back. Drago had no idea who he was talking to, but he dismissed the mutter and raised his staff to strike at the Night Fury.

Toothless leapt aside, snapping his jaws aggressively. Just as he hoped the man took the bait and came after him; Toothless retreated step by step, growling, doing his best to keep Drago's attention on him and off of Hiccup.

He could smell the man's anger, his murderous rage. He could read the message of _submit to me or die_ in every line of Drago's body. He could see the desire to kill in the man's bloodshot eyes.

He could also tell that Drago was injured, and hiding pain, and that if Toothless could just get the right moment…

Unexpectedly, he lunged forwards with a bloodthirsty shriek. Caught off guard, and unwilling to risk impaling the dragon he still wanted for his army – he'd make someone build a fake tail fin that worked without a rider, or perhaps he'd make _Hiccup_ do it before he killed the boy – Drago held his bullhook horizontally to block the strike.

Toothless' paws landed on the shaft and forced it down with his weight. Drago's left knee buckled under the strain, and the dragon took advantage of his imbalance, wrapping his jaws around the staff and yanking at it. Without his hook and cloak, Drago would be defenceless.

Yet Drago kept his head, and gripped the staff tighter and twisted _hard;_ already half reared to snatch at the weapon, Toothless could not stop himself from being painfully flipped over onto his back, the hook pulled away from his aching jaws.

He felt terror stab through his heart as Drago roared and raised his staff, sharp end aimed down, to strike at his vulnerable underside. He tensed to roll aside, regain his footing and resume the fight – but then a familiar voice cried " _No!_ " and thin, leather coated arms wrapped around Drago's neck.

Drago had not planned to kill Toothless – only to pin his wing, a wound that would heal but be painful and remind the beast who was in charge. Hiccup could not have known this. He had managed to free Selena and then ran to help Toothless, knowing even as he did that there was no plan in mind, just his instincts screaming at him to protect his other half.

So when he felt the pain in his own jaw as Drago wrested his weapon from Toothless' grasp, and saw the madman make as if to stab his dearest friend, Hiccup had just reacted. He leapt at the man's back, clawing at his face, heard Drago roar in frustration and felt a hand grabbing at him to throw him off.

Hiccup did not plan to kill Drago - at least, not in that moment, or in that way. He had hoped Toothless' plasma blast as they dived to rescue Selena would have done the deed, but unfortunately they had _just_ missed.

Yet the dagger Eret had let him borrow was still in his grasp; so when he slipped and seized blindly at the larger man's neck and shoulders, he felt skin and flesh give way before the blade and blood spurting over his fingers. He heard Drago's final choking cry. Hiccup let go of the dagger and the warlord and fell to the ground, rolling to avoid being crushed by the falling corpse.

Breathing heavily, he stared at his bloodstained hand, and at Drago's lifeless form, and at Toothless. The dragon panted and stepped forward, intending to comfort his beloved other half. Hiccup dragged himself to his feet, favouring his flesh and blood limb, and began to walk away…

– and then an absolutely inhuman, undraconic, impossibly loud wail of _**DESPAIR**_ rent the air.

Everywhere, hands were slapped over ears, dragons screeched at the sudden pain and shock. The terrible, mournful cry was coming from Usurper, of all dragons, who pulled away from his futile duel with the King to fix his gaze on the body of his Master.

Beast could not understand it; Master had always been there, for as long as he could remember, life was his Master, his whole world of fear revolved around Master…but now Master lay unmoving, and Beast couldn't smell the tiny bit of blood from there but he had seen enough death to recognise it, and the small human and Swift-wing nearby must have hurt Master, and that could not go unpunished…

Hiccup realised what was about to happen, and he tried to run, but his exhausted limbs would not obey him! Toothless had realised Usurper's intention a split second before and leapt at Hiccup, knocking him down and crouching over him protectively as tons of freezing ice crashed down upon them both…

"No!" Valka cried out in despair, leaping off Cloud-Jumper as soon as she could and running to slam her fists against the ice. Stoick did the same, and the blue eyed Night Fury and another green eyed one clawed at the ice, charging plasma blasts to melt it. They had to break through, it couldn't be too late!

The whole battle had ground to a standstill – everyone, dragon and human alike, no matter their side, stopped to stare in shock and dismay…and then amazement as the ice began to glow from within, the nearby humans and dragons retreating from the tell-tale whine...

* * *

It was cold, so cold. He could feel Hiccup huddled beneath him in the small space created by his wings, able to breathe but not for long. His head was tucked into the same space and he could barely see in the darkness, but he smelled Hiccup's comforting scent as his human reached out to pet and comfort _him_ in their last moments together…

 _No._ After everything they had been through, this crossed the line. Toothless could not tolerate Usurper trying to kill them, after nearly forcing them to kill each other. Somewhere deep in his psyche, in his soul, something snapped. _No!_

The warmth of the heart bind became a blazing inferno, and Toothless felt his chest and throat and spine burning. The fires inside rose into his mouth and he could not stop them, he could only angle his sore neck as Hiccup pulled away to avoid the blast –

Light, _air,_ ice burst around them, flying off in all directions. Toothless uncoiled from his protective crouch, his fins, small spines, chest and wings glowing a vivid blue as he poured all his righteous fury and love into a scream at Usurper. * _No more! *_

Briefly he glanced back at Hiccup, who breathed heavily and gave him a small, lopsided, grateful smile. In that glance alone they shared one thought – _Fury's Fire!_

Then Toothless gathered himself, leapt onto the ice still standing and roared - *I CHALLENGE YOU!*

He didn't give Usurper time to respond; he charged a full powered plasma blast quicker than ever in his life and blasted the Bewilderbeast in the face again and again. The force of his shots sent Usurper reeling, wailing * **CEASE-** _ **BEGGING-**_ **CEASE!***

"He's challenging an alpha dragon!" Valka exclaimed in awe; she and Stoick rushed forwards to help their son to his feet. "To protect _you_!"

Hiccup wasn't listening – he stared up at Usurper, hearing the massive dragon whine in pain with each blast and crying * **CEASE OBEY** _ **DESPERATE FEAR OF PAIN*.**_

His natural empathy had been somewhat dulled towards the grey Bewilderbeast, for obvious reasons; but at last, it finally clicked. "Stop" he croaked, staggering forwards, "Toothless, _stop_!"

Despite all the noise his dragon-brother heard, and abandoned the fight at once to leap down to his side, nosing at Hiccup anxiously and asking *What is it? What's wrong? Are you hurt? *

"I'm fine, but you're hurting him" Hiccup told Toothless, who stared at him in disbelief.

*He wants to kill us!*

"He was begging you to stop. Didn't you hear him?"

*I…I…* Toothless whimpered, bewildered; Hiccup didn't look or sound angry, but…had he done something wrong…?

"Let me talk to him. Just get me in close".

It sounded so crazy, but Toothless trusted Hiccup, so together they flew up to hover in front of Usurper whilst everyone else looked on in tense, bewildered silence. The leviathan stared at them, no longer wailing but still moaning, as if his great heart was breaking in two.

Hiccup took a deep breath, looked him in the eyes and said, "You're afraid, aren't you? You're afraid of being punished. You don't mean we should fear pain…you mean that _you_ fear pain. Drago did this to you, didn't he? He made you obey and hurt you when you wouldn't. He made you".

 _ ***OBEY REWARD NO PAIN DISOBEY FEAR-OF-PAIN***_

"Drago can't hurt you anymore" Hiccup said gently, but Usurper moaned again, his gaze turning to the man's corpse before fixing once more on the small heart bound pair before him. They really were heart bound – he could sense it now. It made no sense, but it was true.

 ***MASTER CONSTANT MASTER DEAD KILLED-BY-YOU** _ **MOURNING ANGER REVENGE***_ he said, but there was no real threat behind it.

"Yes...I killed him" Hiccup admitted, "I had to. He was going to kill my other half and he wanted to kill me and all my friends and destroy _everything_ …I _had_ to" he repeated, sounding more as if he were trying to convince himself. "And…I think he would have turned on you too. Once you stopped being useful…I know you cared in your own way about him, but I don't think he cared about you…"

Beast whined in distress as this tiny human tore down his world with nothing more than quiet words and a sad, sympathetic gaze. In all his life, Beast had never known true kindness or mercy, never thought to show such feelings…until now. * _ **FAILURE***_ he moaned, despairing.

"You're not a failure" Hiccup told him firmly, "You're _free_. You don't have to live in fear anymore".

Beast's helpless gaze and heart-breaking whimpers asked one question – _what do I do now?_

*Leave * Toothless instructed. *Swim away and take care of yourself; stop fighting for someone who's gone, who never deserved your obedience. Humans only deserve our loyalty and love if they give us the same. There's nothing to fight over now* he declared.

Whimpering, shifting on his huge paws, scolded and humbled…Beast finally lowered his head, and told the brave and bright heart bound pair * _ **SURRENDER***_ , and turned and padded towards the sea, and slunk into it, and disappeared beneath the waves.

All was silent for a few moments more as the last of the ripples and bubbles disappeared…and then victorious roars and cheers exploded all around.

It was over.

At long, long last, it was over.


	13. Two New Alphas

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'Embers' by Owl City, 'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift, and 'Open up the Sky' by Sam Tsui (because I cannot get enough of that guy XD).

Chapter Twelve – Two New Alphas

Vikings cheered, dragons crowed, and the human remnants of Drago's army coalesced around the chunks of ice that the _glowing_ Night Fury had blasted apart, and the body of their fallen leader. None of them could quite believe that _Drago Bludvist_ of all people was _dead._ The man was a force of nature, a pillar of strength and fearsome resolve, who liberated their villages and towns from dragons, subsumed them into his army…and crushed anyone who dared to defy him.

Hardly any of them had actually seen him be killed, and already rumours were circulating in frantic whispers – that the Night Fury had delivered the death blow, that the skinny, messy haired young man who rode the 'unholy offspring of lightning and death itself' had attacked the warlord in a mad rage…

Now they were bereft; their weapons destroyed, comrades perished, and the dragons they had come to capture were landing between them and the ships. That unbelievably massive one could stomp them all into the ground and then wash them out from between his claws. So at the behest of the victors they lay down their weapons and surrendered, watching the fire breathing beasts warily. With no other options, and since nobody seemed to want anything to do with them, the soldiers set to the business of mending their injuries.

None of the dragons attacked them; they gathered around the victorious dragon and rider as they swooped down and landed before their allies. Eret could hardly believe what was happening – Drago was dead, his pet monster dragon had been _scolded_ and sent away, and the Nadder he'd managed to cling onto – even though his legs were _killing_ him now – throughout the whole insane battle was standing beside him almost as if he were guarding the man.

Without really thinking about it, Eret scratched the back of Sky Fire's neck and watched as Hiccup and his night fury landed in the circle formed by their crazy friends; teens, adults and dragons alike.

* * *

Toothless came in for a landing in a clearing formed by their friends and all the dragons; he and Hiccup were surrounded on all sides by cheers, applause and congratulations.

"Good on ya, lad!"

*Toothless that was amazing!*

"Way to tame that beastie, boyo!"

*I didn't know you could _do_ that glowing thing!*

"Well done, both of you!"

*You two are something else!*

Hiccup felt pleased and slightly embarrassed by all the praise. He ducked his head and smiled shyly, but gratefully at everyone…his smile grew wider as he looked at Toothless, who had shifted around so they were facing one another. "You never cease to amaze me, bud" he murmured, caressing the dragon's jaw as Toothless leaned in and pressed their foreheads together, "Thank you".

*You're welcome* Toothless replied…then he pulled his lips back into a mischievous gummy smile and licked Hiccup's forehead, bowling him over in his eagerness to lick as much of the young man as he could. Everyone burst out laughing as Hiccup futilely tried to fend off the enthusiastic dragon.

"Eww, Toothless! You _know_ that doesn't wash out!" Then Selena pounced and licked at him. "Gah, not you too!"

*Sorry!* she purred happily as she nuzzled his cheek, *I'm just so happy you're both safe, I thought you were dead for sure – I smell blood on you!* she exclaimed, pulling back and looking at him with worry in her eyes.

"It's not mine" he murmured hastily, looking at the bloodstained fingers and palm of his hand and feeling his stomach twist. Toothless took one look at it and promptly closed his gums over the hand before heaving a startled Hiccup to his feet. Once he let go, he had a nasty taste in his mouth but the dried blood was gone. Hiccup briefly smiled gratefully and stroked his head…with the spit covered hand, as a petty but amusing bit of revenge. His dragon did not look impressed.

He heard his mother ask, "Hiccup? Who's your friend there?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah! Mom, this is Selena…Toothless' girlfriend" he introduced them. Toothless started and barked in surprise and indignation, and glared through narrowed eyes at his human. Hiccup just laughed at his expression and teased, "That is what you get for trying to drown me in slobber".

*Did you call her 'mom'?* asked Selena, *That means mother, right? I thought you said your mother died?*

"Nah, turns out she's just been living with dragons for twenty years" Hiccup explained with a shrug, moving aside so Selena could get past, "Go and say hello".

Moments later, Valka was kneeling and nuzzling Selena right back and cooing over her beautiful blue eyes. "Oh, you are _gorgeous!_ I hear it was you who led the others to help us, you clever thing. Oh, my…I must say I approve, Toothless, she's definitely a keeper" Valka told her draconic son with a wink. Toothless stared at her in disbelief – why did everyone keep teasing him about this? – and then gulped when Selena scampered over to nuzzle him instead.

It was then that they became aware of a peculiarly loud purring sound – coming from the King, of all dragons. The massive Bewilderbeast gazed down at the heart bound pair with kindness in his icy blue eyes.

 ***VICTORY – PROTECT –** _ **GRATITUDE***_ he told them, and then he did something they definitely didn't expect…he closed his eyes and lowered his head in a gesture of respect to them, before raising his head and roaring, * **HAIL ALPHAS**!*

If that declaration shocked them, what happened next was even more surprising. The armoured dragons gathered around them _bowed_ to them and intoned, as one, *Hail Alphas!*

Skull-Crusher bowed, as did Cloud-Jumper – even Valka gave them a curtsy, realising faster than the other humans what was going on. The Berk and Ice Pack dragons followed suit, until every dragon there was bowing down to the victorious pair – although the dragons of the Ice Pack raised their heads first.

Hiccup suddenly realised what was happening; Toothless had challenged Usurper, who had surrendered – by dragon 'law' he had become the alpha of Usurper's flock and, it seemed, the Berk Pack as well. So did being heart bound to Toothless mean that he counted as an alpha too?

As far as his brother was concerned, it did. Toothless rose to his full height, puffing his chest out with pride and spreading his wings. Hiccup stood beside him, head held high, and managed to not flinch when Toothless threw his head back and bellowed _TRIUMPH,_ and every bowing dragon reared and threw back their heads and breathed tongues of fire into the sky.

 ***DISPERSE. WELCOME. REST*** ordered the King, after that ear-melting, air scorching display. Thus dismissed, the dragons retreated to lick their wounds, burn and mourn their dead, and show one another they were no threat and that they didn't want to fight anymore.

Hiccup looked around at the gathering of Vikings who were staring at him in bewilderment…except for his mother, who simply smiled knowingly and proudly. He took a deep breath and explained, "Um, the King...the Bewilderbeast says we're welcome to rest here…and I think Toothless and I just became co-alpha's of two whole packs of dragons".

There was a pause as this sank in, and then everyone burst into enthusiastic, if somewhat bewildered, applause.

Astrid waited until her fiancé had wiped off most of the dragon spit on his face before she walked over…and punched him lightly on the arm, really more of a tap. "What was that for?" he asked, although it didn't really hurt.

"Like you don't know" she replied with a teasing smirk.

"Err, no, I really don't. That's why I'm asking".

"You're making a bad habit of this" she remarked, "I mean, seriously, Hiccup. Defeating a dragon the size of a mountain and ending a war once is one thing, but _twice_? That's just showing off" Astrid grinned. He laughed, finally getting the joke, and pulled her in for a kiss.

Somebody wolf-whistled – and then yelped as someone, or perhaps some-dragon, swatted them.

"Where did all those other Night Furies go?" somebody asked, "Any chance I could get a ride? Ow! I didn't mean it like that, Scorch!"

" _No_ " Hiccup said exasperatedly, "They're _wild dragons_ , guys, and I'm the only human they all really trust. Well, maybe me and mum" he shrugged, gesturing to his mother who was still petting Selena along with Astrid. A lot of the Berkians stared at her, until Stoick and Cloud-Jumper both glared at them all.

"That one seems pretty friendly".

"Her name's Selena; and she likes everyone" Hiccup corrected. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, and he reminded the others "We'd better find a way to free all the other dragons who might still be trapped on board those ships".

Just then, Gustav came running up to Stoick exclaiming "Chief! These guys, the ones who were working for that Drago guy, they want to know what we're gonna do with them".

Stoick opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Hiccup cleared his throat and asked, "Uh, can I take this one?"

Surprised, but secretly pleased, Stoick nodded. There were spires of ice left behind by Usurper's most recent blast; Toothless flew up to land on the top of them. "Okay, now get their attention" Hiccup prompted, and he roared loudly at the crowd of human soldiers.

They all jumped and stared up at the pair fearfully. Hiccup sucked in a deep breath and spoke as loudly as he could; he was grateful that one of the first chieftain lessons his father had insisted on, was how to project his voice. "Drago Bludvist is _dead,_ and this war is _over_. You're going to free every dragon still trapped on your ships, and then you're going to lay your dead to rest and _leave_ and never return _._ This island belongs to dragons!"

The hunters flinched at the chorus of excited shrieks and roars that erupted following his final proclamation. "The dragons won't hurt you" he declared, even as Toothless called out an instruction to his fellow dragons. *Don't hurt them, but don't let them leave until they've freed our still trapped kin!*

"You have no reason to fight with them – it's hard, but peace _is_ possible. Go home. Go back and tell everyone what happened to the last man who tried to take over the world…and if you want to learn how to live _with_ dragons, and not fight against them…come and find me" he offered simply. He usually hated making speeches, but this one was easy to make, because it was what he truly believed in.

Everyone looked at each other and murmured; Hiccup looked back at his friends and instructed, "You guys get the keys from them and search the ships, make sure you free them all, even the Firewyrms in the lanterns. Dad…I'll let you sort out everyone else from Berk, since, y'know, you're the chief and everything…"

 _Ugh, that was awkward._ It always felt strange giving his father orders, like he was overstepping his bounds…even though technically, when he was made chief for real, he would outrank Stoick himself.

Stoick didn't take it personally; he strode up to the surrendered army and shouted "What are you all waiting for? Get yourselves sorted out!"

He was so proud of his son right now – Hiccup was showing all the makings of a fine chief – but he hadn't yet gotten the hang of making people who didn't already know and respect him do as he ordered them to.

"What about Drago's body? What are we going to do with that?" someone in the crowd demanded. Hiccup hadn't even thought about that.

"You should be glad he's letting you send your fallen on to the next life at all! By all rights he could order you to leave them to rot" Stoick reminded them sternly, "And do you really think _Drago Bludvist_ of all people deserves a warrior's funeral?"

A lot of muttering ensued, but nobody protested. Stoick called up to his son, "What do you think, Hiccup?"

Hiccup struggled not to let his mind go blank – he'd never outright killed anyone before, let alone been expected to decide what was done with them afterwards. *Let's sink his corpse with his ship* Toothless suggested. He patted the dragon gratefully and told his father, "When nobody is on board Drago's flagship, we'll put his body on there and sink it – but not his cloak. That cloak was a living dragon once, and…whoever they were, I want to give them a proper send-off".

Much to his relief – he'd much rather be hiding away with Toothless right now, if he was honest – Stoick took the attention and pressure off of Hiccup after that. He bossed the hunters around belligerently until the ones who knew how to release all the dragons came forward and gave up the keys to Fishlegs and Snotlout and the twins, who hurried off to free as many dragons as they could. Eret tagged along too; he asked Astrid if he could get a ride, but to his surprise Sky Fire nudged him and crouched down, inviting him to climb on. He gulped nervously, but obeyed.

Toothless leapt down from the ice. Selena had moved over to Drago's body and tugged his cloak away, dragging it aside. Hiccup swallowed hard and gingerly asked, "Selena, do you…do you know who that was?"

She sniffed at it, and whined sadly, and Toothless nuzzled her, crooning comfortingly. "What did she say?" asked Astrid, who had lingered behind.

"She can't tell...it smells too much of death" he explained, dismayed, "but she doesn't think it was anyone from her pack, at least".

"That's good…so, we're really giving a funeral to a cloak".

"No, we're giving a funeral to the poor dragon that skin belonged to. It's…symbolic".

"Relax, babe, I get that. So, you're going to rest now, right?"

"No. I'm going to go help free those dragons…that, and try to find my Dragon Blade. He nicked it".

"You're as stubborn as your dad. Fine, but I'm coming too. There are some dragons I'd like you two to meet" Astrid smiled, thinking of the… she'd call them friends she'd made.

* * *

An awful lot happened at once. The dragon riders raided every vessel and freed the dragons, who either fled for their homelands or asked to join the new one. Astrid and Hiccup found Inferno in Drago's cabin, along with other trophies of past conquests, which was disturbing and they didn't spend any longer there than necessary. The King went out to sea to gather food for his subjects after the battle.

The hardest and longest part of any battle was not the battle itself, but the time before and after. Having to wait in the dark traps had been boring at the least and downright nerve-wracking at worst; at least now they all had something to focus on. Soon all the dragons were free, the humans in Drago's army had sailed away to their homelands, and the Vikings of Berk made camp for a while.

"You lot disobeyed my orders to stay put and took a huge risk coming out here" Stoick lectured them sternly, "And if I weren't in such a good mood, I'd tie the lot of you to shipmasts! Now try to stay out of trouble – Gobber, Spitelout, with no better options I'm putting you in charge of making sure these knuckleheads don't accidentally start the battle all over again".

"You got it, Chief".

"Aye, Stoick – wait, whaddya mean 'no better options'?!"

Valka, Hiccup and Toothless were the most popular people there. Not everyone from Berk was there, of course, but the ones who were kept coming up to welcome her back, and she started getting a little overwhelmed. Stoick and Cloud-Jumper began to warn them away; after all the misunderstandings had been explained, the chief and Stormcutter actually started bonding over a shared protectiveness of their 'dragon lady'.

She wasn't sure what to make of Dagur in particular; she had left Berk before she could really get to know Oswald's eldest son, but even as a toddler the boy had been…off. She was a bit surprised when he greeted Hiccup as "Brother!" and he, though looking resigned, didn't bother to correct the twenty three year old. Just how many honorary siblings did her son have?

Toothless-Hiccup meanwhile found themselves the centre of attention from dragons, who flocked around them purring and crooning. They were showered with apologies and thanks from the newcomers, greeted enthusiastically by familiar pack-mates, nuzzled and preened and licked with marks of obeisance as so many dragons pledged to them.

It wasn't long before Toothless decided they'd had enough, and whisked Hiccup away, following Selena to where the other Night Furies, uncomfortable in the presence of so many humans and foreign dragons, were hiding out at the far side of the mountain. They took the dragonskin cloak with them; and large pieces of driftwood to build a pyre burn it on. Astrid and Valka tagged along too, but kept a respectful distance.

Dragon scales, even in death, were resistant to flames; something Drago had so morbidly used to his advantage. To dispose of their dead, dragons would drop the bodies into lava, or the depths of the ocean. They did not think it disrespectful to let the bodies feed sea creatures; the dead were simply gone and could not care for what was done to them afterwards. There was a legend, though, that the brightest stars were the heart-fires of perished dragons, now free to fly for eternity.

"I don't know who you were, but I'm sorry he used you like this. You can be at peace now" Hiccup murmured quietly to the cloak, before pushing it off into the water. From the shore, the dragons simultaneously shot bursts of plasma at the pyre; the concentrated fire was too much for the battered cloak, and the skin finally burned, sinking beneath the waves as the dragons gave low howls of _loss_ and _regret._

* * *

It was different and strange for three packs to mingle so much, especially after a battle, and most of the Ice Pack dragons had retreated inside their nest. The sooner they left, the better, but the dragons from Berk and their riders were tired, and it was better that they all had a rest.

Hiccup, Toothless, Valka and Selena managed to coax the other Night Furies – Shadow, Black Fire, Nocte, Skylancer, Corona, Ikalen, Penumbra, Silver and Misty-Onyx – out of the cold. Valka showed them all a series of large caverns where many dragons could gather, and when the dragons already there saw and Toothless-Hiccup they submissively slipped away, making room for the alphas in their midst.

They were joined not long after by Eret, who looked as if he wasn't sure he should be there. Sky Fire followed in his footsteps, stopping behind him as he cleared his throat and grinned at Hiccup. "I have to admit, that was some pretty fine dragon-wrangling you pulled off. You'd make a good trapper" he remarked jokingly. A split second later he realised it was probably a bad choice of words, and hastily added "I mean – it was only a"-

"Joke?" Hiccup asked rhetorically, "It's okay…I'm sure you meant it as a compliment. I worked for Gobber since I was a kid, I'm used to that sort of thing".

"Right…seriously, though, what you did was pretty impressive. I didn't think I'd ever see someone _talk down_ a Class 10 leviathan…good thing Drago was already dead. Good job on that".

Hiccup swallowed, and Toothless nuzzled him gently. "You know?" he asked, "I mean, you know that I…"

"I kind of guessed after we saw you near his body, before that huge grey one tried to freeze you two to death".

"Wait, it was you who took that guy out?" Snotlout asked in surprise, "Wow. I didn't think you had it in you!"

"You weren't too bad yourself" Astrid commented to Eret, changing the subject, "For someone who's never ridden a dragon in his life, you managed to hang on okay".

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" Eret replied with a faux-modest shrug. "My legs were killing me afterwards and I thought I was gonna die the entire time…but I've never felt so alive either".

"So, have you decided to join the good side?" Hiccup asked teasingly, "Sky Fire seems to have taken a liking to you".

*Why do you like him?* Toothless asked Sky Fire curiously, *He used to be a trapper, you know*.

*I saved him from those humans so your friend Stormfly wouldn't have to, but then he came and helped me when I was trapped. He is scared but he pretends not to be, and when he was in the air he was _very_ scared, but during the battle he still tried to warn me of danger. It wasn't very comfortable to be ridden, but maybe if I had one of those brown things…a saddle… for him to sit on I could teach him to not be so scared when he flies* the turquoise-purple drake explained.

Eret himself had asked the same question, only reversed. "Why _is_ that? I mean, I got him out of that trap of Drago's, and I tried to watch his back when we were fighting for our lives not too long ago, but I don't see why he'd get so…attached to me. I mean…he was right there when you kidnapped me, he must know…what I am. Was, I mean, what I was".

"Hey, dragons don't cling to the past" said Hiccup, "and they don't worry too much about the future, either. Sky Fire could tell you were pretty much petrified up there, but you stuck with him. You tried to help him. Once you earn a dragon's loyalty"-

"There is nothing they won't do for you" everyone else chorused.

"Exactly" Hiccup rolled his eyes good naturedly, before adding to Eret, "You know, that offer I made goes for you too. If you want to learn what dragons are really like, how to ride and care for them, I'd be happy to oblige".

Eret thought about it, and then nodded. "Yeah…think I might take you up on that. I could do with some flying lessons" he admitted. Sky Fire nudged at him insistently until he scratched the nadder's muzzle.

Something occurred to him, and he asked, "Couple of other things…when we leave, do you think we could find my crew? I mean, they're morons sometimes, but they're good men. Besides, they're hopeless without me".

"Sure. Anything else?" asked Hiccup.

"Yeah. Where did you learn Gaelic?"

"Err…what?"

"You keep switching between Norse and Gaelic. It's a bit distracting, actually, would you be so kind as to cut it out?"

"I…Eret, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about".

"I didn't know garlic had its own language – maybe you're supposed to chant in it to ward off Lycanwings! Or is that vampires?" Tuffnut said to himself.

"I wonder if there's a vampire-dragon somewhere" Ruffnut mused thoughtfully.

"Hey, yeah! We should get one and call it Bloodsucker!"

Eret stared at the twins, and then at the others, silently and helplessly asking _Are they for real?_

"Just tune them out" Astrid advised, "You'll keep your sanity longer".

*Our riders are a bit crazy* Belch told Sky Fire, twisting his head to meet the Nadder's eye better.

*All the humans are a bit crazy* added Barf. *You'll get used to them*.

"Not garlic, guys" Fishlegs rolled his eyes, " _Gaelic._ It's a language native to an island far south of the archipelago called Scotland…Trader Johann told me about it" he explained.

"I'm half Celtic on my mother's side" Eret explained, "I grew up speaking Norse and Gaelic, and I swear, it sounds like you're speaking both. And you know what else is strange? Not all the men in Drago's army were Norsemen, or Celtic, but they all seemed to understand you as well".

"Maybe they translated for one another" Heather suggested.

"Was that language you talked to Drago in when you were pretending to be one of them, was that Gaelic?" Astrid asked him curiously.

"Nah, that was Icelandic. When you travel around, it helps to speak a few different tongues".

Hiccup frowned thoughtfully; he was starting to figure out what might be going on, but he wasn't sure, because it seemed impossible. "Hey, Eret? Can you say something in Gaelic?"

"Uh, sure". Eret cleared his throat and said "Mo mhàthair a 'tighinn bho na h-Alba ( _my mother comes from Scotland_ )".

"Okay, now say something in Icelandic".

"eitthvað á íslensku ( _something in Icelandic)_ ".

"Very funny".

"Thanks – wait, what?"

Hiccup grinned excitedly. "You just said 'My mother comes from Scotland' in Gaelic, and 'something in Icelandic' in, well, Icelandic" he revealed.

Now everybody was staring at him in bewilderment. "How do you know that?" asked Stoick.

" _Do_ you speak Gaelic?" Heather inquired in surprise.

"No, but here's the thing. Everything Eret just said, to me, it sounded like Norse".

"That's impossible!"

"Yeah, he wasn't even making any sense!"

" _Oh!_ " Fishlegs jumped and pointed excitedly between Hiccup and Toothless, "Of course! You two are – and you can-!"

"Exactly! It must work on human languages too – oh, this is amazing! Not to mention it could be really useful".

"I know, right?!"

Eret gaped, completely lost. "Would one of you please explain what you're talking about?"

Little did he know, Sky Fire was having similar thoughts. *You're right, your humans are crazy*.

Hiccup hesitated…after _certain people_ had found out about the heart bind he hadn't been able to keep a lid on the news, because Vikings were terrible gossips. Eret was probably going to find out sooner or later; better he hear the full story from the source than some garbled, nonsensical version (Hiccup's favourite was the rumour that he now had the power to transform into a dragon at will) from one of the other Hooligans or Berserkers. "What do you guys think? Should I tell him?"

A brief discussion followed. "I think so" Astrid nodded at last, "he did help us rescue you. I say we trust him – but we have to swear him to secrecy".

"Yeah, you're right. Okay, Eret…oh, err, hold that thought" Hiccup said apologetically, distracted by the Hobblegrunt, Monstrous Nightmare, Deadly Nadder, Thunderclaw and Shovelhelm descending on them. The five dragons landed before and bowed to Toothless and Hiccup.

*Never mind bowing - you've brought food?* Toothless demanded hungrily, scenting the prey.

*Yes; the King has returned from his hunting and let us bring some prey for you. Alpha-human, please tell your mother we hope she doesn't mind us taking wood from her nest for your human pack-mates to feed* the Shovelhelm explained as they dropped some logs and assorted fish.

"Oh, it's alright; you don't mind them taking some firewood from your cave, do you mom?"

"Oh, not at all" Valka replied good-naturedly.

"Well, thank you, guys…" Hiccup knew that dragons often showed gratitude by returning favours, but he wasn't about to eat some fish and sick it up again, so he petted them instead. It got a bit awkward when they all tried to nuzzle him at once…

Soon everything was sorted out and they were digging into the fish; they were all starving. Once their hunger had been sated somewhat, Eret prompted Hiccup to get back to explaining what he and Fishlegs had been getting so excited about earlier.

So after swearing Eret to secrecy, Hiccup explained almost everything. When he'd finished, there was a long silence. "So, let me get this straight" Eret said slowly, pointing first at Hiccup and then Toothless, " _You_ were stabbed, and _he_ did some kind of ancient dragon voodoo blood ritual to save your life?"

"Pretty much" Hiccup agreed, putting an arm around Toothless' shoulders. "We think the only reason it worked on me is because I'm sort of a dragon…spiritually, and Toothless and I are soulmates".

"And this… 'heart bind'…lets you understand dragons and any human language?"

"Seems like it; and it seems that whatever the native language is for the person I'm talking to, that's what they think I'm speaking in. Which explains why I didn't know about this until now - I've only been talking to people who speak the same language I grew up with".

"This explains so much…" Eret said wonderingly. Whilst he'd been helping to free the dragons, he'd overheard some of the defeated soldiers muttering to each other, picked up stray bits of Norse about Hiccup; rumours that he'd come back from the dead, aand that he could read minds. He'd dismissed it as superstitious nonsense at first, but it was amazing how accurate – for the most part - they'd turned out to be.

With their stomachs full, questions answered, and all the leftover adrenaline of the battle worn off, it wasn't long before the dragon riders were all fast asleep. Their dragons, who did not need to sleep quite as much or as often, stayed awake to watch over them.

* * *

Toothless knew Hiccup was awake because he felt mostly content but also a little doubtful, with no clear reason why, and from this he knew it was not his doubt.

After that argument in the nursery cave, they had both wondered why they hadn't picked up on the others irritation sooner. It was only after talking with each other and Ekeren that they realised, they _had_ been sensing it, but mistaken the others emotions for their own. They had started learning to tell the difference since then.

When they were both happy, they sensed the others joy and it only increased their own until they were all but giddy with it. Sharing in sorrow, they sought comfort in the other's presence. Hiccup had slightly better control over his emotions than Toothless, and was usually the one to pull them out of the loops that were so easy to fall into.

He peeked an eye open at Hiccup, who was awake but trying not to be. For a moment Toothless considered letting him rest, but his doubt bothered the dragon, like an itch that had to be scratched. So he twitched a shoulder and Hiccup blinked his eyes open, looking concerned. "You okay?" he whispered.

*I was about to ask you the same thing* Toothless replied, *You're doubting*.

Hiccup blinked, and then sighed when he realised what the dragon meant. He sat up and looked around; the others were sleeping or dozing, a couple were snoring...he noticed, when he looked again, that his mother was not amongst them. He caught Cloud-Jumper's eye and gave him a questioning look; in answer, the Stormcutter merely looked towards the path out of the caves.

Very quietly, Toothless-Hiccup got up and slipped away, following their mother's scent until they found her on a ledge overlooking the beach and the ocean. Days were short this far north, and the sun had already set. The remnants of the battle lay scattered across the beach, marring the now peaceful vista with broken traps, bloodstains and scorch marks.

"Mom?" Hiccup said gently when they were in earshot, trying not to startle her. She still jumped a little, but relaxed when she realised it was only them.

"Oh…hello, Hiccup, Toothless. Are you both alright?"

"We're fine. Are you alright?" Hiccup asked in concern, setting aside his own misgivings.

"Oh, yes…it's just going to be rather strange, coming back to Berk after so long. I do want to come home…I didn't realise I did, until now…but this has been my home for twenty years. I'm…not sure if I remember how to live with humans, anymore" Valka explained quietly.

"I think you're doing well" Hiccup assured her without a trace of sarcasm, "and we'll all understand if you need some time to adjust. A lot has changed in the last few days".

His mother hummed in thoughtful agreement. "It's not every day a human becomes the alpha of dragons" she remarked, "You must be very proud of yourself. Your father and I are".

Toothless sensed Hiccup's doubt increase slightly and nudged him insistently, saying *You can't fool me*.

Hiccup sighed and confessed, "I am…proud, I mean, but I'm more proud of Toothless, but we're heart bound so in a way I'm proud of myself too, and it's…I'm honoured, I really am, it's just that…I'm not sure if I can really be an alpha. Toothless would be a great alpha, but me? I can barely control my thought-speak, let alone use it to command hundreds of dragons at once, and I'm not even sure if I want to command them…I'm human, I don't know why they would want a human as an alpha".

*That's what you're worried about?* Toothless asked with a disbelieving, dismissive snort. *Stupid human* he teased, licking Hiccup playfully, *You'll be a great alpha too*.

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry" Valka chuckled as Hiccup grumbled in disgust and wiped the wet back onto Toothless' scales in retaliation. "I saw how the dragons came to you both; none of them care that you're human, Hiccup. You're heart bound with Toothless, you're part of each other, and that's enough" she told him, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder.

Toothless pressed against his other side and reminded him *You might not be able to use thought-speak so well, but I can use that for us. Just like you can do things I can't do. We're doing this together, just like everything else*.

Hiccup smiled gratefully at them both, but it was still a little hesitant, and his mother decided he needed a bit more encouragement. "You came early into this world" she began quietly, looking up at the stars, "You were…so fragile, so frail. I feared you wouldn't make it…" she looked back at him and smiled, "but you did. You _thrived._ You're stronger than you realise, and you are more than a mere human, Hiccup.

"You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon. I really believe, I _know_ , that you can bring our worlds together" she declared, her voice filled with confidence and pride. Touched, Hiccup embraced her, and though surprised at first she quickly returned the affection. "You know; if you're still worried about not being so good with thought-speak…talk to the King. He has a way of…opening your mind" she suggested to Hiccup as they pulled away.

So as their mother returned to her husband's and dragon's side, Toothless carried Hiccup on his shoulders to the heart of the nest, the meadow and the sea lake where King rested. At first they weren't sure if they should disturb him, but his eyes opened at their cautious approach and he rose to meet them.

They bowed respectfully until he gently gave them permission to rise. * _ **HAPPINESS***_ they felt from him, he was happy to see them, and then * _ **CURIOSITY. CONCERN*.**_ He wanted to know if something was wrong.

Hiccup swallowed hard and spoke. "Your Majesty…I am honoured to be an alpha, and I promise I'll do my best to live up to that...but I'm just a human. I'm not sure if I could really be an alpha of dragons…even if I do have the soul of one".

*He thinks because he can't think-speak well, he can't be a good alpha, even though I told him I would do that for both of us. We're two halves, but we don't do everything the same* Toothless explained.

"My mother, Valka, she told us you might be able to help…with the thought-speak, I mean. That you could…open our minds…"

 ***COURAGE*** the King told them, because they were * **BRAVE*** , and * **BELOVED*** and * **ACCEPTED*** by their subjects. They did not have to be huge in size, or be able to command at will, to be good Alphas…they simply had to * **WANT TO** **PROTECT** * their pack, and he could see in them that they would.

 ***TOUCH*** he commanded, and they looked at him in questioning surprise. The King moved his great head forward until the scales were in reach, and as Hiccup met his eyes the young man knew what he had to do.

With trepidation, he and Toothless moved closer; he placed one hand on his dragon's head and another on the rougher scales of the King's face, his heart thudding, and closed his eyes…

He felt the presence of the King sweep through his mind like a wave, pulling him helplessly along in its wake. He felt the ocean of will swirling around and between his memories, thoughts and secrets, leaving them like islands in peace. He felt that will come across the barrier in his mind that kept him from think-speaking as easily and instinctively as he spoke aloud, and a burst of ice in his mind tore down that wall.

He was pulled down further, by the wave and by the warm weight of the heart bind, right to his core. There the wave retreated, but the warm gentle pull remained, his veins sang with it, and he followed it until he could sense a familiar, beloved presence there with him. Deep within his mind, he met the mind of his other half and they chose a memory to make their own shared secret place.

When they opened their dazed eyes, Toothless was curled around Hiccup, and Hiccup cradled his head, and for a moment they couldn't quite tell if they were awake or dreaming. *Are you okay?* Toothless asked in concern, rubbing his snout gently against Hiccup's cheek and hair.

Happily returning the affectionate nuzzle, Hiccup sighed _contentment_ and replied *I'm fine*. He blinked in surprise a bit, realising how naturally it had come. *I'm doing it…I'm doing it! I can think-speak! It's so easy!* he grinned, his own voice coming from his mind overlapping with the excited, happy squeaks uttered by his throat.

Perhaps it was not becoming of an alpha, let alone two, but no one paid the pair any mind as they celebrated and thanked the King, grateful for all his help.

When they returned to the caves they'd left, their friends were awake and waiting for them. It was time to leave, and they emerged into the night, surrounded by dragons. With Toothless in the lead they chased the crescent moon, climbing high into the air and hovering to gaze down upon the Ice Nest glittering like a jewel with even greater treasures concealed within.

Following his instincts, Toothless drew in a deep breath and roared * **FOLLOW!***

Their subjects obeyed, rising from the peaks and turning in the sky to follow their Alphas as Toothless-Hiccup twisted in the air and led the way home. Accompanied by an honour guard of Night Furies, with his family and friends close by, Hiccup laughed with delight.

It felt _good_ to be alive.


	14. Home Sweet Home

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: Thanks to SilverDragonGirl15 and thearizona for suggesting Toothless and Hiccup's dragon titles. The song for this chapter is 'We Are Family' by Keke Palmer…because I can't think of a better one, don't shoot me.

Chapter Thirteen – Home Sweet Home

It was too far to travel from the Ice Nest to Berk in the space of one night…a few hours from dawn, the new Alphas led their flock to a green and mountainous isle which, from the air, looked uncannily like a dragon curled up to rest on the ocean. The sight was familiar to Hiccup and his friends, for this island was where they had maintained their now abandoned base, Dragon's Edge.

On the way there, Astrid had taken Eret (Sky Fire had tagged along as well, wanting to keep an eye on his new human friend) to search for his crew. Eret's men were very glad to see him, and whilst they weren't quite up for riding on dragon-back, they did promise to come to Berk as soon as the winds changed. "Don't worry, Eret" Astrid assured him as they flew back to re-join the pack, "We'll help you hide from Ruffnut".

The Edge seemed peaceful enough as the pack glided in a shallow dive towards it, but many of the dragons grew restless, sensing that they were in another pack's territory. Would their new Alpha's challenge these ones and take their pack too? The dragons of Hiccup's friends started spreading the word that there was nothing to fear; the dragons here were scattered, only there for the good fishing and hunting; the main flock living on the island were only small dragons, and their leader knew Toothless-Hiccup. Belch boasted that his rider was practically best friends with the Mimic's alpha.

As they approached, a large black dragon swept up from the shadows, roaring and demanding in what sounded like a multitude of voices in unison,*Who is there? Trespassers? Intruders? Hunters? Threats?*

*No threat!* Toothless roared back, before ordering the rest of the flock, *Everyone, **stop and wait** *.

The dragons obeyed at once, to the surprise of their riders who yelped and jerked uncomfortably in the saddles as their dragons came to rather abrupt stops in mid-air. Toothless kept flying, right up the large black dragon. Peering closely, Valka noticed that the outline of the other dragon was oddly blurry. Cloud-Jumper had never liked to take her even to the northern islands of the archipelago, so she wasn't as familiar with these islands as she might have been.

Looking over at Astrid, Valka asked her, "Astrid, that dragon Toothless and Hiccup are talking to? What sort of dragon is it?"

Astrid chuckled and explained, "It's _dragons_ , actually. A pack of Night Terrors – they're a bit like Terrible Terrors, but a lot bigger, and they mimic an even larger version of themselves to warn off enemies. Hiccup and Toothless are probably letting Smidvarg know that we just want to rest for a while". At Valka's questioning look, she added, "Smidvarg's their alpha. Tuffnut named him" she shrugged.

"Ah…"

Toothless and Hiccup persuaded the Night Terrors - Mimics - to let them rest for the remainder of the night on the island. When they moved on again, the dragons' stamina stood them in good stead but the humans were not so lucky. The only island on their route large enough to accommodate such a large flock was Dark Deep; Hiccup had a pretty clear and unpleasant idea of who was the alpha there.

Sure enough, the Catastrophic Quakens (they called themselves Crushers) weren't thrilled at having a horde of strange dragons descending on their island. Once more Toothless and Hiccup flew ahead to claim *No threat*, to explain they only wanted to feed and rest and then move on. The Quakens weren't having any of it, and it could have gotten ugly...if it hadn't been for Fishlegs, of all people.

The stockiest rider flew down on his gronckle to try and help calm the Boulder class dragons, and the lead Quaken, the first one on the island (the other two had been used to following orders and not attempted to fight him for dominance, which was how he liked it) actually _recognised_ him, to his considerable relief and surprise. The massive dragons finally reconsidered and gave reluctant permission for the flock to rest in their territory; even _they_ could see that most of these dragons would not try to eat their food.

Both Dragon's Edge and Dark Deep made Hiccup acutely aware of one of the main problems with bringing home a flock that was twice the size of the original. The first two islands they'd briefly rested on were large enough for the whole pack to settle down together, with Toothless always insisting on perching in the best spot.

Berk was small, compared to those islands. He and Toothless were responsible for a huge flock of dragons, all of whom now expected to live, play, fight, sleep and raise their young on this one island. His mind had already been racing with solutions, both temporary and permanent, to the problem of where to put them all.

On the way home they had to settle many arguments – the warrior dragons wanted to fight, out of habit, but the originals refused to be cowed and bullied. They had to be reminded and instructed many times, things were _different_ now, they couldn't snarl and claw and flame and get away with it. On Dark Deep, whilst the humans were trying to set up camp under the baleful suspicious stares of the Quakens, Toothless-Hiccup and their dragon friends told the newcomers the rules of their new nest.

Don't fight amongst the human's wood-caves. Don't lash out at the humans, especially the little ones, they're _fragile_. Don't steal and eat the prey-beasts and the food that humans keep for themselves. If a human is bothering you, fly away and come and find us, we'll find a way to sort it out.

* * *

It was a relief when they finally made it home; spirits were buoyed, and many of the Vikings cheered, with their dragons roaring excited counterpoints. The villagers who had stayed behind, along with the dragons who were too old or too young to fly such a long way and fight, came out to cheer with them and welcome them all home. The dragons followed their Alphas lead, and so they all came to land on or hover around the steps of the Great Hall.

Toothless and Hiccup stood at the top of the steps, with all the pack and all the villagers staring at them expectantly. "Okay…so, you guys have probably noticed that we brought some friends home…" he began, only to inevitably be interrupted.

"Are they here to help us defeat Drago?"

"Are some of them wearing armour? Is that a thing now?"

"By the goddess Frigga, is that Lady Valka with Stoick?"

Toothless roared *Shut up!* at the humans, who nonetheless got the message, and purred as Hiccup gave him a grateful pat. "Drago is defeated" he assured the nervous villagers, "He's dead. Toothless and I made the Alpha dragon who was controlling his dragons – like the Red Death, only it wasn't completely his fault because Drago was really controlling him – anyway, err, we defeated him, Toothless and I, and now…well, we're the Alphas. Of the Berk Pack, I mean, which now includes all the dragons that were in Drago's army".

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the protests began again. Many of the dragons, displeased at this apparent lack of respect towards one of their alphas, growled warningly at the humans…who of course couldn't tell that the growls weren't truly aggressive, and only grew more alarmed. Toothless snarled in frustration, and prepared to command them all to stop, when Astrid strode up and yelled "Shut it!"

Even the dragons stopped to stare. "Ah…thank you, milady" Hiccup smiled at her, before clearing his throat and continuing, "Guys, listen. These dragons – the new ones, I mean, the ones in armour – we really need to get that off…" He shook his head before he could get side-tracked, and continued, "They've been through a lot, and they're going to be wary of humans, and maybe a little aggressive.

"You're all going to have to be patient…and yes, I know, we're Vikings, it's not exactly our strong suit. But come on; we figured this out before, and we can do it again. Right now I'm worried about something more immediate – namely, where they're all going to sleep".

"Don't forget what they're all going to eat" Tuffnut interrupted from his place on Belch's neck, "And what they're all gonna do, and what we're gonna call them all…"

"Yes, _thank you,_ Tuffnut" Hiccup shot him a 'shut up now' glare, but the irrepressible twin continued to count off all the problems they might face, regardless of how likely they were. Hiccup somehow doubted that a swarm of Flightmares would fly in and decide they wanted to be part of the pack too. *Belch, drop Tuffnut* Toothless instructed bluntly. Belch obeyed without question. Hiccup gave Toothless a nudge and a look that said _I'm pretending to disapprove of that but I really don't._

"Yeah, so, like I was saying - you're _fine_ , Tuff – about where the dragons are all going to sleep. Just for the time being, if you can, make room in your homes for your own dragons. The bigger ones that were part of our pack originally, they can sleep in the great hall, or outside the houses – oh, and most of them can stay in the stables and in the training arena, like normal…the new ones can, err…"

*Selena, you and the other Night Furies can sleep in the cove. Everyone else, stay out of there! The rest of you, nest where you usually do in the village and the caves, and our new pack members can settle down for the night anywhere else on the island. Understood?* Toothless instructed.

At the same time, Stoick trudged up and proclaimed, "The dragons can take care of themselves, son. They've managed for the last five years, haven't they? Right now, we have much to celebrate!"

*We understand, Alpha-Toothless* the flock chorused, in response to their dragon alpha. By some consensus, the dragons had decided that if they were addressing their two new Alphas separately, to call them by their titles and names together. Most of the bickering on the way to Berk had been over this very matter.

"We can't" Hiccup said quietly, defying his father even as he shifted uncomfortably…aware of all the eyes on him, but this was something he couldn't back down on. At Stoick's perplexed stare and his mother's worried gaze, Hiccup quickly amended his statement. "I mean, not yet. We can't celebrate just yet. I want that armour off those dragons, for a start. Gobber, do you think you could…?"

"I'm way ahead of you, chief" the old blacksmith smiled, saluting.

"I'm not the chief".

"Well, coulda fooled me, since you're acting like it".

"Guys, I'm not the chief. I'm just trying to do what's right for the dragons" Hiccup protested, trying to get them to understand. Somebody – he thought it might have been Sven – asked "So when _can_ we start celebrating?"

Hiccup resisted the urge to groan and press his face against his palms. Toothless nudged his arm for attention and told him, *Let dad take care of the humans. We'll take care of the dragons*.

Nodding in agreement, which probably looked odd (he didn't really care), Hiccup turned back to his dad and said, "Okay, sure, dad. You can organise a celebration; roast some boars, break out the ale…all that fun stuff. Me? I'll be at the forge, taking that armour off" he insisted, swinging himself onto Toothless' back. The dragon spread his wings and commanded, *If you have metal-skins on your bodies, follow us and we'll take them off!*

With that he leapt, flying over to and landing beside the forge. Hiccup went right in; Toothless waited outside, watching the armoured dragons who were already approaching. They seemed almost reluctant, shuffling towards the forge and then away, or circling, or landing on the ground and then leaping to rooftops. Puzzled, Toothless tilted his head in confusion and asked, *What's the matter? Hiccup isn't going to hurt you*.

"Exactly" his other half agreed as he emerged from the forge, dragging a wheeled table covered with all the tools he thought he might need. Hiccup left it in plain sight as he turned to the nearest dragon, a heavily armoured Thunderclaw. "Hey…it's okay. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you" he said, keeping his voice low and calm, "Just…come a bit closer, so I can get a better look…" The Thunderclaw tentatively crept forwards, sniffing at Hiccup's outstretched hand, only to shy away at the last minute. Dismayed, he carefully asked, "What's wrong?"

The dragon – he couldn't even tell what colour it was, or its gender, under all that armour – shuffled its feet and lowered its head, obviously uneasy. "I'm not angry" Hiccup assured it, although surely the Thunderclaw could tell. "I just want to know what's upset you".

*It's not just him* Toothless remarked; unlike Hiccup, he could tell the gender by scent alone, even buried under the reek of metal. *They're all acting strangely. You have to tell us what's going on* he insisted to the gathered dragons, *Even Alphas can't read your minds. How do you expect us to help you if you won't tell us what the problem is?*

The Thunderclaw bristled, stomping his paws to make the ground ring, and then cringed submissively. It was like he couldn't make his mind up to obey or not. *You told us to, so we have to…but I don't want to!* he snapped out defensively, hunching down with his wings curled in but held ready to snap out and flee. Hiccup blinked in bewilderment and asked, "You don't... want to have your armour taken off?"

Many other voices agreed – the metal-skin was good, it protected them, it made them strong and fierce! Other voices protested – the metal-skin hurt, it wasn't good, they wanted it off! Hiccup floundered; it hadn't occurred to him that some of the warrior dragons would _want_ to keep their armour. He wondered if he should just let them, but the thought of having them covered in armour, a constant reminder of their life in slavery covering their scales…

He held his hands up and shouted for attention of the growing cacophony of agitated rumbles and growls, the tense rustling of wings and tails, the arguing snarls as the dragons turned from their Alphas to bicker amongst themselves. "Guys, stop! Calm down, listen! Hey! Just-!"

* **Listen** * Toothless commanded, punctuating it with a short, sharp roar. At once, instinctively, every dragon turned to them, heads lowered and eyes averted. The roar startled Hiccup a little, but it also reminded him that he could think-speak fluently now. For Moon's sake, he'd practiced on the way home, talking to Toothless and thoroughly enjoying having a conversation that didn't get him strange looks from people who could only hear one side of it.

*Everyone, calm down. I understand, you've probably been wearing that armour – the metal-skin – so long it feels like it's part of you, but it isn't. It was put there by humans who used you, but you're not being used anymore!* he insisted. Beside him, Toothless crooned _relax, trust, calm_ in counterpoint, joining his sounds to Hiccup's thought-speak.

Hiccup preferred to compromise whenever possible; he made his decision and declared, *If you want to be rid of the metal-skins, we'll take them off. If they make you feel safer, then I'll let you wear them…but just remember, if you keep your metal-skins, everyone will notice you*. Dragons had a bit of trouble putting together more than two concepts at a time, especially new concepts. So he tried to keep it simple.

*If you keep them on, you'll still look and smell like outsiders. You're _not_ outsiders, obviously, but you'll seem like it*. Surely, he thought, they would understand the idea of being part of the pack, part of a whole, and not want to be the odd ones out.

The dragons shifted uneasily…they didn't quite understand what their smaller alpha was telling them, but surely the Alphas were far cleverer than they! The thought of _not belonging_ was like an itch no amount of writhing would get at to scratch, and they shuddered at it. Yet the thought of having their protection stripped away felt wrong too, even though wearing it sort of felt wrong. It was all so wrong, and confusing! What were they supposed to do? They had been commanded to wear the metal-skin, but now they were commanded to not?!

Hiccup realised he had confused them, seeing it in their cocked heads and puzzled stares and worried whimpers and uneasy fidgets. *It's your choice* he told them, trying to help them understand, *You can keep the metal-skins on if you want to, but you don't have to*. They still looked confused, and he felt helpless, struggling to figure out how to explain it to them. Toothless didn't know how to explain it either. So lost in thought were they, that they both jumped and whipped round like spooked spike-tails at the sound of a voice behind them.

It was only their mother, and Gobber…when had they gotten there? "What – how – what are you guys doing here?" Hiccup asked, remembering at the last minute to speak with words like a normal human. To be honest he was starting to prefer thought-speak…now that he didn't have to strain to project his thoughts outward, it actually felt easier than working his throat and jaw to talk aloud.

"We came to help you get that armour off those dragons, of course" Gobber explained, raising an eyebrow and scratching at his cheek with the side of his hook. "I kinda thought you'd have made more of a start on it, but then you went all quiet…doing that mind talk thing, were you?"

"Thought-speak" Hiccup corrected automatically, "and yes, I was. I'm just trying to…some of them don't want their armour off, they don't feel safe without it – but if they keep it on they're just gonna stand out like sore thumbs, they'll draw attention to themselves. I'm trying to explain that it's up to them, it's their choice if the armour stays or not, but they're confused and I don't know how to explain to them…" he said agitatedly, running a hand through his hair.

"That's what I was trying to tell you, dear" Valka said gently, "I can see they're confused too. These poor dragons were warriors only days ago, but they were slaves as well. I think they're confused by the idea of having a choice in the matter at all" she explained. Hiccup's brow furrowed with concern…he thought of the two Quakens that had been used to quarry stone, obeying the whims of their captors without question. He thought of Sleuther, the peculiar strike class dragon who had been trained to fight for so long that he no longer needed a reason to.

The new dragons were calm now, but how long would it be before the tamped-down fires inside them blazed up and out? Hiccup scolded himself mentally; he couldn't think like that. Of course he couldn't stop them fighting; all he could do was stop the fights getting out of control. "You're right…but how do I get them to understand?"

"Maybe you can't" Gobber shrugged, "Let them figure it out on their own. They're cleverer than they let on, these beasties" he pointed out, but his jovial tone of voice told the dragons that he didn't mean the last word as an insult.

"Gobber's right. They just need time to get used to the idea that they're free now. Why don't you both come back to the Great Hall and have something to eat?" Valka suggested with an encouraging smile, "You must be starving".

Hiccup's stomach just had to pick then, of all moments, to gurgle hungrily _._ He scowled down at it a bit, before shaking his head. "No, I…some of them _do_ want their armour taking off, I know that much, and somehow I don't think they can get it off themselves. I'll stay here and help them…just, uh, ask the others to maybe save us some food, please?"

"Don't worry, lad. Astrid said she'd bring you something if you didn't turn up when the feast really got underway" Gobber assured him, "She's going to be a good wife to ya, that lass".

Hiccup smiled sheepishly. "I know…and I will come to the feast, but I need to help the dragons first" he insisted. Toothless turned to the assembled dragons crowded around them – it was a good thing all the humans were out of the way – and instructed *If you don't want your armour taking off, go and find somewhere to nest for the night*.

Many of the dragons took off, but quite a few remained. With Gobber and Valka's help, Hiccup worked on removing all the armour from their scales. It hadn't just been strapped on, but hammered directly onto their bodies with pinching screws through tough scales. His blood boiled at the thought of the pain it must have caused; many of the screws had traces of dried dark blood on them.

As he and Gobber worked, Valka calmed whichever dragon they were taking the armour from, with soft words and gentle strokes. Toothless wandered amongst them, settling disputes between impatient and irritable dragons here and there. The next question was what to do with all of the armour, which was quickly piling up inside and outside the forge. "Oh, I can think of a few things" Gobber grinned when Hiccup mentioned that problem. "The things I could do with this much Gronckle Iron…"

Eventually there was no more armour to remove, and the dragons had been dismissed to go and find nests and reminded not to steal nests already claimed. Hiccup washed his hands – well, Toothless offered to lick them clean, but he politely declined – and they decided to go on a brief patrol before they headed to the Great Hall for something to eat. Their flight took them on an easy, comfortable soar over Berk, keeping eyes peeled for signs of squabbles that might be getting too overboard.


	15. Looking Forward

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: So I was reading a couple of Raberba girl's stories, and two in particular, chapter one of 'The Dragon Queen of Berk' and chapter four of 'Two Worlds, One Family', gave me the idea to switch up Hiccup and Astrid's roles. It will all be explained in the chapter, but consider this a secondary disclaimer ;)

The song for this chapter is 'Right Place, Right Time' by the one and only Olly Murs ;)

Chapter Fourteen – Looking Forward

Looking down at all the dragons settling in, bickering a bit over where to sleep, diving for fish in the water…Hiccup felt the way his dad always said _he_ felt, when he could see the whole of Berk and all its people safe and well. Toothless felt him relax and heard him sigh, and warbled happily. "Hmm? What's got you in such a good mood?" Hiccup asked him, stroking the top of his head. *You're happy, so I'm happy. You are happy, aren't you?*

"Yeah, I am…oh, hey, Sky Fire!" Hiccup perked up, calling to the Nadder he could see flying in the distance. Toothless hurried to catch up and Sky Fire back-winged, slowing until the two dragons were gliding side by side. *Greetings, Alphas* the nadder acknowledged them respectfully. It was still a little strange to have left his nest with the Sea-giant King and come to this new, much smaller Nest with a Swift-wing and human king both, but he had always prided himself on being able to get used to change quickly.

*Hello, Sky Fire* Toothless replied, *Are you okay?*

*Yes, thank you, Alpha-Toothless. I've even marked a place to roost for the night*.

"Hey, Sky Fire, you don't have to be so formal, y'know" Hiccup smiled, "We're friends now. Huh…speaking of which, where's Eret?"

The Nadder jerked his muzzle down towards the beach. *My new human is down there. He didn't want to fly, he was nervous. I think he's hiding, but I don't know why*.

"Heh, probably trying to avoid Ruffnut" Hiccup smirked, torn between amusement and pity. Sky Fire whistled curiously, tilting his head in confusion – which in mid-air, unbalanced him a little, so he flapped his wings hard to regain it. *Trying to avoid _who_?*

"Oh, she's just…"

*One of Hiccup's strange human pack-mates – the female of the twins that smell of fish and burnt prey-fur and twin-head gas* Toothless explained helpfully, but Sky Fire only seemed even more bewildered. "Can you show us where he is?" asked Hiccup. The Nadder obliged, banking to the left and gliding down towards the beach. Eret was sitting – well, crouching – in the midst of some large boulders, newly broken from one of the twins 'excavation projects'.

He looked up at the sound of dragon wings in alarm, before swiftly schooling his features and standing up to lean casually against the nearest rock. "Hello!" he called, a bit too cheerily for it to be believable; Toothless and Sky Fire could both tell from his signals that he was nervous, but pretending to not be. Dragons didn't hide how they felt unless they had to…they couldn't understand why humans did it so often, and Hiccup hadn't really been able to explain.

"Hey, Eret" Hiccup said as he dismounted, "Is…everything okay?"

"Oh, of course" Eret grinned, climbing up to stand on one of the flatter boulders. Sky Fire saw his bared teeth and his nervous signals…*Be careful, Alpha-Hiccup* he warned, spreading his wings and eyeing Eret warily. The man noticed the stare and his mask of confidence visibly cracked a little. "Hey…Sky Fire…it's me…" Eret said, trying to keep his nerves from shaking his voice. Normally he had no problem not showing fear to dragons…but then normally, he only talked to them…well, at them…after they'd been captured.

*Careful of what?* asked Toothless.

*My human, Eret…he is nervous and he bared his teeth, he might attack* Sky Fire explained. He was very confused, as was Eret, when both Hiccup and Toothless chuckled. *He's not threatening!* Toothless explained when he'd stopped chortling, *When humans show their teeth like that it means they're happy. It's a weird human thing*. Sky Fire blinked, chewing on the thought in his mind, and chirped in understanding.

"It's alright, Eret. He just saw you grinning and thought you were baring your teeth at me – you know, in the angry way" Hiccup explained to Eret. The other man nodded slowly…he understood now, but inside he was thinking _Great, now I can't even smile around them?_

"You can still smile" Hiccup added, as if he'd read Eret's mind, "It's just best not to smile too much at a dragon who doesn't know you well. Oh, and if a dragon stares at you like that, don't stare back. Although you probably already knew that….so, any reason you're down here and not up at the Great Hall with everyone else? Toothless and I were on patrol, by the way" he added, in answer to the next question Eret was probably going to ask.

The former trapper shrugged and replied, "Oh, y'know, nothing much, just enjoying the view. Astrid told me you guys have some great sunsets here".

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "We do…but you know, the sun usually sets on the _other_ side of the island" he pointed out. With a bit of a boost from Toothless – the boulder Eret was standing on was large – he came to stand next to the man. "Sky Fire said you seemed nervous, that you're hiding. Is it Ruffnut?" he asked sympathetically.

"No, it's not…well, okay, maybe a little" Eret admitted. He rubbed the back of his neck and confessed, "If you must know, I'm hiding from…them". When Hiccup's only response was to raise his eyebrow again and gesture for the man to continue, Eret said "The dragons, I mean. The new ones, that worked for…oh, who am I kidding, that were slaves for Drago. I probably sold a lot of them to him myself".

"And you recognise them?"

Eret scoffed a bit. "Of course not – if I did, that would mean I'd gotten attached to them". In his old line of work, the number one rule was not to get attached to the cargo – you didn't pet them, you didn't talk to them, and you certainly didn't name them. It made life a lot simpler when you didn't have to worry about some bleeding heart getting soft and deciding to set the poor dragons free….

"But what if some of them recognise _me_? You and Astrid keep telling me how they're smarter than they look, how they understand us when we talk…if one of Drago's dragons sees me and figures out I'm the one who caught them in the first place, I'm a dead man".

"They're not going to kill you, Eret" Hiccup said calmly, "I'd never let them, and besides, dragons don't think like we do. They don't dwell on the past…I mean, look at Toothless" he said, gesturing to the black dragon looking up at them curiously, "He and I met because I shot him down, he still has scars from that, he's missing a tail-fin…but once I earned his trust, he forgave me, for all of it. The new dragons just need time to get used to everything…and besides, if you're gonna be staying here until your crew sails to Berk, you can't avoid the dragons forever".

As if on cue, two of the newer dragons – a Snafflefang and a Thornridge – flew down to land on the beach beside them. The two dragons shook and stretched out their wings, and lowered their heads in submissive bows to Toothless and Hiccup. *Greetings, Alphas* they chanted, just like Sky Fire.

"Are you guys all going to bow to me and Toothless every time you see us?" Hiccup asked them, much to Eret's bewilderment.

*Yes, Alpha-Hiccup* replied the Snafflefang, without looking up.

*You and your human friends freed us from the human ships and the bad Sea-giant. You deserve our respect!* the Thornridge added, also without looking up.

"Err, you guys can…" Hiccup cleared his throat and tried not to feel awkward as he said, *You may rise*.

The dragons lifted their heads. "So, uh, can we help you with something?"

*We were just looking for somewhere to nest* the Thornridge explained.

"Tell you what, why don't you sleep on this side of the rock pile" Hiccup suggested to the Snafflefang, "and you can sleep on the other side" he added to the Thornridge. Both of them found this acceptable, and Eret very quickly jumped off the boulder when the two dragons came up to nuzzle Hiccup gratefully.

Hiccup, Eret, Toothless and Sky Fire went for a walk along the beach. "Were you scared of those dragons?" the young Viking asked, "You never struck me as the type to be scared of anything. Whatever happened to the boasts about being, what was it, the greatest dragon trapper alive?"

Eret glowered at him. "Very funny. Listen, chief, or alpha, or whatever you call yourself"-

"Hiccup, usually, seeing as it's my name" the young rider quipped.

The older man just gave him a long suffering look…Hiccup sighed and said apologetically, "Sorry, force of habit".

Eret brushed it off. "Ah, forget it. Look, the only thing I've ever been afraid of – as in really, properly terrified – was Drago Bludvist. If I'm honest, I never really _believed_ in his mad campaign- everything I did, it was just to keep myself and my men alive. Capture dragons. Fill the quota. Keep on the move, even though nobody ever ran away from Drago and _lived_ …and now I know why! Dear gods, that monster…I never even believed in Bewilderbeasts, I thought they had to be a myth, and now I've seen _two_ of them…and that second one, the one that followed Drago…you just _talked_ to it and…"

He stared at Hiccup with a strange sort of admiration on his face. "How do you do it? From what I've heard, even before you got…before you could understand them or read their minds or whatever, you could wrap dragons around your pinkie finger; persuade them not to attack you. Don't take this the wrong way, but…when I saw you stand up to that massive dragon, you reminded me so much of Drago. You're nothing alike, don't get me wrong…but it's as if you've both got this way of doing the impossible and getting away with it".

Hiccup wasn't exactly thrilled at being compared to Drago, of all people…but he understood where Eret was coming from. "I'll try to take that as a compliment, too" he remarked dryly.

"I'm just not sure what to do now" Eret confessed, stopping to stare out to sea, "Dragon trapping…I'm not saying I'm proud of it, but it's all I know".

Hiccup frowned thoughtfully. After a while, he suggested, "Maybe…your job doesn't have to change that much. I'm not saying you should go back to trapping dragons" he said hastily, when Eret looked at him oddly, "But if I show you guys a better way to deal with them, maybe you and your men could go out there and show others how to befriend dragons – or at least, how to deter them harmlessly. You could help spread our message of peace further than I can, at least for now".

"Are you offering me a job?" Eret asked him, lips quirking in amusement.

"I guess so" Hiccup shrugged, "Are you accepting?"

"Depends – how much are you gonna pay me?"

"Actually, you're going to pay me" Hiccup stated. At Eret's confused look, he explained "If you get hired by people to fix their dragon problems, and you get them to pay up front, then instead of giving me the dragons, you release them into the wild and give me a share of the profits. Maybe a…forty-sixty split?" Hiccup suggested, gesturing from himself to Eret, "Then I can save the money and use it pay you and anyone else I convince to do this".

"…Make it a thirty-seventy split and you've got yourself a deal".

"You know what; we'll work out the details later. So, what do you say, Eret son of Eret?" Hiccup asked with a smile, holding his hand out to shake, "Do you want to work for me?"

Eret looked from him, to the Nadder who was apparently his dragon now, and back to Hiccup again, smiling. "I'd be honoured, boss" he nodded, giving Hiccup a firm hand-shake.

"Great!" Hiccup grinned. He was just about to suggest that they went back to the village and up to the Great Hall for the feast, when the sound of wingbeats and a cheerful squawk heralded the arrival of his fiancé. She dismounted and patted Stormfly's cheek; the Nadder chirruped happily at her and bowed to Toothless-Hiccup. The black dragon pounced at her playfully, kicking up sand. *Stormfly, we're _friends_! Come play!*

Astrid laughed at the sight of her dragon and Hiccup's making pretend lunges at each other; Sky Fire just shifted his talons in the sand uncertainly, not sure why one of his Alphas was acting like a hatchling and the other was performing some sort of strange mating ritual with the female that smelled of metal and fur and spike-tail-scent. The only thing that made him feel better was that Eret seemed to be made uncomfortable by it too.

When Astrid pulled back from the very nice kiss, she said "The feast's all prepared. Would've been done sooner, but your mum had to break up a few fights between the dragons". At once she regretted her words when Hiccup stared at her, dismay and guilt written plain as day on his face.

"Oh no…I am so sorry, Astrid, I should've been there to help, it's just that I got talking to Eret and"- Astrid thumped him lightly on the arm.

"That's for being a self-blaming idiot" she said, before snogging him again. He looked even more dazed the second time she pulled away, and she smirked. "Everything's taken care of. Now come on back, everyone's waiting for you".

"Err, actually, I've been meaning to talk to you – in private, I mean" Hiccup told her, "Eret, why don't you go on ahead? Tell them we'll be a few minutes".

"Uh, sure…hey, Sky Fire? Think you can give me a lift?" Eret asked the Nadder. His change of heart had been genuine, and he was trying really hard to believe that dragons could understand what he was saying, no matter how unlikely it seemed…To his surprise, Sky Fire actually crouched down, an obvious invitation for Eret to climb up onto his back. _I really underestimated these guys_ he thought as he heaved himself on.

After Eret and Sky Fire had flown away, Astrid turned to Hiccup with an inquisitive expression. He took a deep breath. "Okay, so…I'm supposed to be training to become chief, right, but now Toothless and I are the alphas of our dragons. Which means we're supposed to patrol the territory, and defend it, and settle disagreements, and help the dragons just like dad's always helping the villagers, and "-

"And you're worried that if you have to be Hiccup the Chief, you'll be too busy to be Hiccup the Alpha" Astrid finished for him, cutting into his ramble. He was adorable when he did that.

Hiccup sighed. "Something like that".

"I'm sure Toothless could take care of the dragon stuff, if you're too busy…"

"Yeah, but Astrid, that's just it" Hiccup said agitatedly, "He's already having to share me with you, and any children we end up having…but having to put up with barely seeing me, because I'm too busy with my duties as chief and he's doing all my work as an alpha? No, I can't ask that of him" he said firmly, looking over at his dragon-brother with concern and love shining in his eyes. Yet Astrid felt not a twinge of jealousy; only admiration. Hiccup's devotion to those he loved was one of the many reasons she'd fallen in love with him in the first place.

The two of them discussed, and planned, and by the time they returned to the Great Hall, the feast was already well underway. Hiccup and Astrid tried to be discreet when they slipped in, but it was hard to go unnoticed when you were accompanied by a Nadder and a Night Fury. It was even harder when the building they were entering was full of dragons, all of whom looked over and bowed in acknowledgement of their leaders, except for Selena who bounded over from their mother's side to nuzzle them.

*Where have you _been?_ There's food here, and it's delicious – except for that white and brown stuff, I'm not sure I like that – but everyone's so friendly! Shadow and the others didn't want to come, but I wanted to see you two* she explained, giving them a gummy smile before getting distracted by some children offering her fish, taking it from them gently and letting them pet her and purring over how small and soft they were.

Hiccup's people, already red-faced from the ale and the hearty singing of drinking songs, crowded around Hiccup as he tried to make his way through the hall, thumping him in a congratulatory fashion on the shoulder and praising his victory over Drago and 'that ruddy huge super-dragon'. It seemed that everyone in the village wanted to shake his hand or clap him on the shoulder; sensing that his other half was feeling overwhelmed, Toothless spread his wings out as far as they could go in the crowded space, pushing the Vikings away.

The dragons in the crowd soon got the hint; they didn't understand why these humans were being so disrespectful to one of their Alphas, not letting him go where he wanted to. Many a Viking yelped in shock as a Monstrous Nightmare or Zippleback carefully snatched them up by the scruff of the neck and pulled them away from Hiccup. Gronckles plodded through the crowd, nudging a path clear for Toothless-Hiccup to walk through. Terrible Terrors flitted around the Alphas, landing on the more tolerant Hiccup, and nicked food to offer him.

Stoick and Valka beamed, amused and proud, at the bizarre but really quite heart-warming sight of their sons being treated like kings by their pack. They chuckled as Hiccup grinned sheepishly at the disgruntled Vikings who'd had food snatched right out of their hands, and told the dragons to give it back, he could get some for himself, it was fine…When they finally made it to the top of the hall, Hiccup had a plate of food that wasn't half eaten, and Toothless was perfectly content to accept the offerings of regurgitated fish that quite a few of the dragons made for him.

"Tonight is a grand night!" the chief announced in a booming voice, and everyone cheered, often through full mouths. "Tonight we celebrate many things; freedom, peace, the return of my wife" – Valka blushed and waved – "and the victory of my son" – the cheers grew louder– "Against an enemy who would have destroyed all that we hold dear. This is a great day for Berk! This is a great day for the entire world!"

Hiccup was starving, so he had no intention of making any announcements until he'd eaten his fill. The gang gathered round, chatting and arguing about how exciting (Snotlout) and terrifying (Fishlegs) the battle had been. Astrid suggested that they could benefit from training drills in how to fight alongside and against other dragons. The twins offered their services in excavating caves for the new dragons, and had to be reminded that any more caves would probably lead to some cliffs collapsing. Not that they really saw a problem with this, of course.

In what seemed like far too short a time, Hiccup had finished his meal. Astrid nudged him and asked, "Hey. You want to break the news to everyone?"

He looked around at the crowded hall and sighed. "Yeah…seems as good a time as any". He got to his feet, with Astrid on his right and Toothless on his left, and they walked up to stand on the dais where the throne was. Hiccup decided then and there, that if he could command the attention of fire-breathing reptiles then he also deserved the attention of the villagers, even if a lot of them were semi (or completely) drunk. He had a feeling he'd be reiterating a lot of this for days on end, for the benefit of the people who just hadn't listened.

Drawing in the deepest breath he could, Hiccup looked out over the crowd (many eyes were already turning towards him) and shouted over the hubbub of talking and music. "Everyone listen! Please!"

At first it didn't seem like he'd been heard, with all the noise, so Toothless helpfully roared at them all. The Hall fell silent. Hiccup swallowed hard, drawing strength from the hand on Toothless' neck and his other held supportively by Astrid. "Thanks…uh, Astrid and I, we have an announcement to make – _without_ any interruptions" he said pointedly. _You can do it_ he told himself, _just say what you planned to this whole time._

"As you know, for the past few months I have been training to…well, to succeed my dad and, uh, become the chief of Berk. I decided that I needed to take responsibility for my future…but, well, sometimes things happen that are outside of our control. I've…I've become the first ever human Alpha of a dragon pack. Now, I know most of you won't understand what that means. I'm still figuring it out myself – but the one thing I _do_ know is that I now have a responsibility to _all_ of you, dragons and Vikings.

"But the thing is, I'm just one person; and no chief, however good at it they were, could properly lead two villages at once. I can't be the chief you deserve if I'm trying to lead and protect the pack. I can't be the alpha the dragons deserve if I'm trying to lead and protect the village. Now, I know that Toothless is the Alpha as well, and he could probably lead the pack by himself…but we're heart bound, that's _why_ we're both the Alphas, so we're in this together" Hiccup explained firmly.

"Basically, what I'm saying is…if there can be two alphas, which has never happened before, then why can't there be two chiefs?" he asked rhetorically, "Which I know is probably really confusing, but just hear us out".

"Hiccup and I talked, and we decided it was for the best if _I_ became the 'official' chief, and dealt with all the human affairs" Astrid explained, "Whilst _he_ is made Berk's first and only – well, actually, the world's first and only Dragon Ambassador. That title was his idea, by the way, not mine".

There were some scattered chuckles. "Yeah, yeah" Hiccup grinned good-naturedly, "I'll work on it; but what that means is, I'll be in charge of anything dragon related, and act as a mediator, translator…basically everything I've been doing for the past year. Astrid is a great warrior and leader, and she's better at getting humans to listen to her than I am, but if you want help with dragons, well… I'm your man".

"We'd split the responsibilities as evenly as possible" Astrid continued, "I'll do some of the dragon stuff, and Hiccup _is_ going to take care of some of the human stuff, or else" – more chuckling greeted this statement– "But he and I agree, this way would be best for everyone".

"Now wait just a minute" Stoick interrupted, "When were you two planning to discuss any of this with _me_?" he questioned. When Astrid and Hiccup simply glanced at one another, he frowned impatiently and demanded, "Well?"

"Chief, we weren't trying to go behind your back or anything" – Astrid began to protest, but then Hiccup put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He drew himself up, looked his father straight in the eye and said, "Dad, the truth is, we didn't discuss this with you beforehand because you're stubborn – uh, no offence – and I knew you'd disagree. I've made my decision, and Astrid is on board, and… I'm not some kid who needs to run everything by you for your approval. Astrid would make a better leader for our people than I could ever be…and I have my own people to lead, now".

There was a long pause. His mother was the first to start applauding, closely followed by Gobber…Hiccup had no idea who followed, because suddenly everyone was clapping and cheering at once, including his father. Stoick walked over and hugged both him and Astrid, briefly and unintentionally suffocating them before setting them down again. "I didn't say I disagreed" he pointed out, "But if you don't mind, Hiccup, next time at least try to _mention_ it to me when you make a decision that completely uproots centuries of Berk tradition".

Hiccup laughed. "I will, dad, I promise" he smiled.

Stoick beamed proudly at him, and turned to his people, raising his mug high in the air. "HERE'S TO HICCUP!" he bellowed – cheers and roars erupted all around, and Hiccup suddenly found himself inspired for a speech; which was odd, because he usually felt he was terrible at making speeches. Maybe his victory and Toothless' presence beside him – and the mug of ale he'd drunk – had given him confidence and loosened his tongue.

"Here's to _all_ of us!" he declared as soon as there was a lull in the noise. "Our island might be small, and bleak and kind of crowded now, but it's home. It's _our_ home" he declared, and everyone cheered. "We might be small in number, but we stand for something bigger than anything the world can pit against us. Those who attack us are relentless and crazy – but those of us who _stopped_ them? Even more so!

"Because we have something they don't – they have armies, and they have armadas but _we,_ we have OUR DRAGONS!" he shouted, snatching his dragon blade from his thigh and holding it aloft, igniting it in one fluid motion. " _To our peace with dragons!"_

" _To peace with dragons!"_ the cry returned, the ensuing cheers all but drowned out as Toothless flared his wings and roared in triumph.

/

The feast lasted all night…early the next morning before the sun had even risen, Hiccup and Toothless, camped out in the Great Hall, found themselves being nudged awake by Selena. *We have to go* she explained with an apologetic whine, *I should really go home before mother sends the whole pack out after me. You'll come and say goodbye, won't you?* she asked hopefully.

*Of course we will* Hiccup smiled at her, and Toothless purred. He thought his mother and Astrid might like to say goodbye as well, so he carefully woke them. The five of them – three humans and two dragons – picked their way past snoring Vikings and dragons and out of the hall.

The Night Furies were waiting for Selena on the highest cliff of Berk; Astrid rode with Hiccup, but Selena allowed Valka to ride her. Hiccup, Valka and Astrid bid goodbye to Selena especially, and to the others…Toothless padded over to Shadow, who looked him over and said, *Hello, brother. Or should I say Alpha…I can't believe you're an alpha now*.

*Neither can I* Toothless admitted, before adding, *But I do wish we'd gotten a chance to spend time together*.

Shadow scraped his claws in the grass and avoided his brother's gaze. *Well…I suppose, if I ever fly this way anytime soon…I might stay a bit longer* he admitted. Toothless purred happily and nuzzled him; Shadow started, unsure how to respond at first, but soon nuzzled him back.

Then Toothless returned to his other half's side. *Goodbye, Selena. It was…really good to see you again* he told the young Queen-to-be, who warbled joyfully and nuzzled him, and licked Hiccup's cheek.

*It was so good to see you too! I promise I'll visit again as soon as I can* she told them both, purring her very loudest purr.

"Selena, all of you, _thank you_ " Hiccup said gratefully, "If you hadn't all come when you did…well, things could have been very different. We owe you all one…in fact, since you guys welcomed me into your pack…what d'you say, bud, shall we welcome them into ours?" he asked Toothless, who nodded. "That's settled then. You guys are always welcome to come here, live here even, anytime you want".

After a few more goodbyes, the Night Furies took to the air. Astrid and Valka waved heartily as the beautiful creatures soared upwards, and Toothless-Hiccup accompanied them a little way out. As they disappeared into the east, Toothless sent a plasma blast out into the sky…in the distance, they saw another flash brightly in the dawn light, a final farewell.

Valka and Astrid returned to the warmth of the hall and their dragons, but Toothless set himself on a cruise around the island, so he and Hiccup could check up on their territory and their subjects. There would be much to do when everyone else awoke, plans and preparations to make. Soaring high above Berk with his other half, feeling the freshness of the early morning air on his face, Hiccup was looking forward to it. He smiled…and let the tail fin out so they could go _faster._

The time for doubt had passed. The future would be waiting for them. Here and now, all that mattered was being alive and free, and flying beneath the stars.

/

A/N: Thank you for reading, and thank you if you favourited or reviewed, or both : ). The ongoing sequel, 'This Is Berk', is now available to read. It picks up where this one leaves off, but there will be a few time jumps as I explore Toothless-Hiccup's lives as the Alphas of Berk.


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